sulkytofu

Oops you are totally right -- I meant to say there are good subs up until Episode 8, but starting from Episode 9 they aren't good (because that was the point when the original halting of the drama occurred on Youku). Thanks for making sure to clarify that, just made some changes and edits.

I had no idea that the WOWOW version also has cut scenes -- that's quite unfortunate, because Episodes 1 to 8 were very loyal and consistent to the novel (although I have heard some fans have some bones to pick with the adaptation for a variety of different reasons).

I totally feel the same about how important good subs are to this drama -- Priest has a way of making all of the cases wrap up and draw upon each other, so missing certain hints and things I think do impact your enjoyment (it's also fun to rewatch to catch things viewers may have not have seen earlier). Really hoping that we get good English subs in the future!

So to summarize the issues around the fansubs below -- I've been very confused over the situation, and hope it's okay to do a general overview of the situation:

1. There are no official English subtitles right now, only official Japanese subtitles because the drama is only aired on WOWOW on Demand. There's a lot of hope that a platform like Viki will potentially get the license, but this is all speculation right now and unknown.

2. There are fan translators who are translating and sharing clips via other platforms (will not be named out of concerns of causing issues), however they have effectively stopped and restricted access because WOWOW issued a copyright notice a while ago/indicated the possibility of curbing the episode release if this continues. Whether or not that's a serious threat, fan translators have essentially "shut down" the public sharing of their translations until everything airs. They have also asked that people do not share these translations on sites like kisskh or on other platforms. There is a possibility that the fan group may release them after all episodes are uploaded, but this is uncertain.

3. Good English subtitles are important because the cases are complex and the original author, Priest, actually incorporates a lot of different hints and nuances in her work that will be frustrated/flattened through bad subtitling. Right now there are NO good subtitles after Episode 8(when the drama was pulled from its original broadcasting platform over content regulations), regardless of whichever platform this show is being illegally broadcast on.

So, for those who want to watch the drama right now, there are several options:

1. Wait until all the episodes are released and we potentially have the ability to access the fan translations (note that fan translators are doing this unpaid, without any remuneration, and really out of their own free time and passion).

2. Hope to the BL gods that we get a licensing of the drama through another platform.

3. Try to watch with machine translated subtitles (from my understand, the quality seems very mixed and not great right now, but others can comment if the quality is readable).

If there are any corrections required, please feel free to let me know -- I hope this however answers some confusion and the (extremely difficult to navigate) information about translations and translation quality through this thread. I definitely had to search back through a lot of comments to understand what was going on, so hopefully this is a useful resource. Please also let me know if I need to edit anything out of risk of a copyright strike or violation as well.

Sounds good! I would say Xichi's first major plot point (the one upcoming after the episodes you're watching) was quite predictable for me as someone who is a long-time drama watcher, but Zhai Xiaowen's acting was so well done it was still enjoyable for me to watch. On the other hand, Song Cong's (10, 11, 12) was personally quite difficult for me to sit through because of the fantastic performances and the difficult subject matter. If after these episodes you're still not convinced, I don't think this will be the show for you because the general direction of the show takes this format (fluff, then something difficult/challenging comes up, fluff again, then again another challenge).

I also agree with others who mention that the university arc (around Episode 18 and after) is less interesting compared to the high school one, but the themes and issues also are extremely emotional, so I feel like this is very much a drama that relies on how much you like and enjoy the characters.

I was also the same, I struggled so much to watch this for the first 8 episodes because of just how frustrating a lot of the characters were, especially the constantly assumptions over who liked who and the prioritization of crushes over friendships. However, what kept me watching was actually some of Huaner's inner monologues — they're certain sentences within the novel that are very reflective and speak as an "observer" reflecting on the challenges that they face, and usually come up during important scenes.

This ended up paying off, because I will say from around Episode 7, 8, and 9 when you get to one of the major issues Xichi faces, that's when the show really reveals its true face. From that point on, you have fluffy moments, then extremely traumatic scenes, and then fluff again, and then trauma again. In some ways, the first stretch of the drama fools you into thinking this is a sweet and wholesome show, when some of the problems the leads encounter are actually quite dark. I actually became quite nervous and anxious because of how realistic these issues were, and Always Home also doesn't really conclude them in a "happy" manner — instead, there's a lot of nuance and complexity to the characters.

If after seeing the first major plot point (I would say watch for 7, 8, 9 for Xichi, then 10, 11, 12 for Song Cong), you're still not feeling it, then I think it may be time to drop the series. There is a kind of tone shift through those episodes that pave the way for the rest of the show, but I do feel like you have to enjoy the characters in order to really like the series.

I'm on Episode 7 right now, and to be honest one of the things I'm really struggling with the drama is that I hadn't expected an entire complicated love pentagon (which even includes side characters). I'm actually kind of missing scenes where it's just Huan Er, Song Cong, and Xichi just hanging around, being worried about each other's family lives and hardships, and taking care of and protecting each other. Instead, from Episode 2 we've already jumped into a bunch of different versions of everyone assuming someone likes somebody else, which has been frustrating to watch.

On the flip side, Huan Er and Du Man are truly the best girls of the show. Du Man is strictly able to set boundaries with other people, has her own goals, minds her own business, yet at the same time treats others who care for her extremely kindly despite her sharp and harsh tongue. Huan Er has such a healthy way of becoming friends and caring about other people — I find it interesting that she chose the science stream when the inner monologues/sentences that she has made me think she was going to choose arts since she's so poetic and good at understanding people.

One of the best things about shorter dramas is that they often feature newer/lesser-known actors and actresses who are really, really good at their performances. This dropped with absolutely minimal fanfare and promo, and despite obviously being a lower-budget production, the script was excellent, the characters were likeable, and it has a really refreshing trajectory. It's so fun to see two characters who essentially start off as the villain x villainess trope, and then grow together and end up completely falling for each other. Although the ending is short, it's still an extremely good one (in some ways better than some of the half-finished or incomplete endings that we see from longer shows).

Cai Zhengjie does an amazing job pretend to be a weak and powerless Crown Prince who in fact is a strategist that simultaneously plans against his brothers AND also protects his woman, while Chen Siche does an amazing job as the Crown Princess who initially sets out for revenge but eventually works together with Yunsheng to achieve their shared goals. The transition of their relationship from enemies to lovers to a power couple is so beautifully done, while you can really see how much chemistry and mutual respect they have together. There's also very little filler given the short drama length, and after having watched multiple different series, I think this one is just as good as Money is Coming, except that it's the darker, less fluffier version of the series.

Friends, for those who are interested in long-form live discussions, we have weekly discussion posts on the CDrama subreddit! Please come join us to chat about Sang Yan and Yifan together!

Thank you, this is perfect to know! I was going to watch it while turning my brain off, but given what you mentioned I think I may wait a bit. I did enjoy Tale of Love and Loyalty but wasn't quite satisfied with the ending!

This drama was so, so good until around the midway mark. Others were correct that the drama brought forth by the SML wasn't worth the time, especially when I wanted more of what made the first stretch excellent (the longing, yearning, pining, and the subversion of a cold CEO to a puppy-like one) rather than wasting time on other characters.

That being said, the cinematography is gorgeous (it's like each episode is filmed as if it were a short film or music video), and the drama really brings intimacy to life — you feel as if you're genuinely watching two people fall in love with each other, and their day-to-day gestures are so realistic and affectionate.

Okay, I'm planning to go into this with extremely low expectations, but can anyone give a quick rundown of who WOULD enjoy this drama, and what to expect when going into it? Thank you so much!

I am struggling a bit to rate this, because it's not awful or terrible, but it also has lots of pacing problems and issues. Granted, I'm coming into this with extremely low expectations. Song Weilong really struggled to emote in his previous dramas such as In A Class of Her Own, and in some ways his appearance is a double-edged sword in relation to discussions about his acting performances. On the other hand, despite her excellent work ethic and how well-known she is for her professionalism on variety shows, Angelababy is absolutely famous for the "is she crying or is she laughing" meme. Her performance in the Love O2O movie was non-existent, and when there are so many actors and actresses who have had long periods of lack of work or projects despite their skills, it's no doubt why both of them have had major criticisms over their acting.

That being said, I was actually very pleasantly surprised to note that while I still don't think the acting is really there, both their performances have gotten better, and they actually do have relatively good chemistry together. I agree with other comments however, that on paper everything about this sounds really interesting — Jun Qiluo as a character is absolutely fascinating and extremely clever and competent, and I wish more time was spent about her developing her strategies and her business rather than being captured and staying in Beixuan for a long period of time (and then slowly falling in love with Xuan Lie). The major issue is that by Episode 18 we're still in Beixuan, making sure Xuan Lie becomes the Wolf King, and dealing with Beixuan politics, yet we've learned far less about Yannan. On one hand, I can see why this decision was made in order to build up the romantic relationship between Xuan Lie and Jun Qiluo, but honestly because of the lack of development of Jun Qiluo's character and her goals, I feel as if both of them have kind of lost chemistry together after acknowledging each other's romantic feelings.

In any case, I think if you go into this one with really low expectations about the production, budget, acting, and storyline, you may find this to be a nice watch in between other shows. The setting refreshingly reminds me of Sound of the Desert and Goodbye My Princess, while I am absolutely in love with the recent wave of dramas such as The Double and A Journey to Love with extremely strategic and analytical women headling drama. Other than that, however, you'll have to make sure to not look for too much in the writing and the pacing, because this is definitely not a masterpiece in terms of its script and plot.

Love On is an original series by iQiyi and tends to feature scripts written in-house, but this is actually from a novel by the author who wrote the original source material for the film Better Days (2019) and the drama As Beautiful As You (2024).

I will keep my spoilers to an extreme bare minimum/mostly confined to Episode 1 and identifying episode numbers here in order to not use the spoiler tag and to give some insight for others who may be interested in watching:

There are a total of four(ish?) lives for Mu Xuanling but the drama shows these scenes in a non-linear fashion and somewhat in reverse of chronological order. In other words, you are kind of thrown into the "middle" of things from Episode 1.

1. Mu Xuanling expresses affection for Xie Xuechen from Episode 1 (she forces a kiss during this episode), but he distrusts her because she is the Saintess of the Dark Realm. By around Episode 7/8, you can tell Xie Xuechen is slowly growing affection for her. A confession happens around the halfway point, but it's complicated (and in some ways their relationship doesn't really need a confession because of the other ways they show their love).

2. Rather than breakups, if there is distance between them it is a life-or-death matter. However, nothing drags; things usually are resolved within 1 to 2 episodes.

3. Rather than time skips, it's either past memories or flashbacks, or due to external circumstances.

4. There are multiple points, because often conflict is external (it's never conflict because "you didn't love me," but instead "how do we best protect the world we live in?")

5. Rather than an amnesia arc, both characters have certain points where they end up "not loving each other" or being enemies due to external circumstances. For Mu Xuanling, this begins around Episode 16/17, while for Xie Xuechen this begins in Episode 30.

6. Mu Xuanling and Xie Xuechen's affection for each other is so strong that it's hard to really see them with other characters, but you may sympathize with Nan Xuyue. Nan Xuyue is also a very complex character (like the rest of the cast members), and it's not easy to categorize his feelings as simply "jealousy" or trying to get in between the main couple.

7. Possibly, depending on whether or not you like Nan Xueyue. He is very much like Runyu in Ashes of Love, and he plays a very central role in the drama. I can stress however that Wang Duo has done a very good job at this role, and so rather than being tiresome he is a second lead character that you do want to see on screen.

8. Happy ending!

Reflecting on the drama and some of the excellent comments below, I was looking at some of Zhang Binbin's previous roles and works, and I truly think Xie Xuechen will be one of his most memorable characters. Even though he has been cast as a leading actor in different dramas before, I really feel that the attention on him is disproportionate to his ability, and that he absolutely will continue to have a career that shines with even more amazing and wonderful characters.

This isn't to say that Binbin's past roles weren't well done, but rather that The Blossoming Love shows how much expertise he's developed across such a long career in the entertainment industry. In a way it would only be possible for him to portray both the bitterness and sweetness of his character due to how many different roles he's adopted, and you can see how much he genuinely loves his work (e.g. it's very obvious that he even physically changes/either slims down or bulks up depending on the role and the requirements).

It's also similar to my thoughts on Wang Duo who impressively managed to make the audience simultaneously sympathize and be frustrated with Nan Xuyue, and it's absolutely past time for him as well to receive a script for a lead character. The fact that Wang Duo has been in the industry for nearly over a decade and it's not until the culmination of his work in Bloody Romance and in this drama that he's been acquiring more attention also makes me wonder how many other amazing actors and actresses are just waiting for their big break — despite the many years of hard work, dedication, and time they put into their performances.

I'm also absolutely blown away by how fantastic Sun Zhenni is as well, and how her tiny body in fact is housing a giant talent in the industry. I already had my eye on her after her incredible Frozen voice acting performance when she was still a contestant on Produce Camp, but I did not expect her to do such an amazing job at such a complicated role like Mu Xuanling. Despite the fact that she was younger than her costars and had less experience in the field, she no doubt showcased why she was accepted by the Beijing Film Academy, Central Drama Academy and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. I wish that the three of these actors continue to receive many more excellent roles, scripts, and continue to be on broadcast for a very long time — I have no doubt others have taken note of their skills and talent, and can't wait for their next projects already!

For viewers who are currently coming into the drama, some of the early comments mentioned that Episode 1 feels as if you've been dropped into the middle of the show. Like other xianxia works, the characters do experience several different "lives," or "reincarnations," and without providing too many spoilers, this drama shows the lives in a non-linear fashion (e.g. the first life is shown closer to the end of the drama). It shouldn't be too confusing, but if you have questions about how Xuanling seems so attached to Xuechen, there are good reasons for it, and I recommend you keep staying for a couple more episodes as the plot really starts to pick up once they arrive in Snow City (around Episode 7).

Also... I can't believe this was the drama which made me consider it, but Han Dong really needs to have the chance and be cast as a lead in some kind of a mature romance (or romcom) drama. I think this is one of the first roles where although he (again) plays a villain, he also acts as an extremely devoted, down-on-his-knees bad for his woman type of character (when in his other roles he's often motivated instead by greed/power/etc. instead). He's not the only one; honestly many of the side characters in this drama are all excellent at their performances and have multifaceted personalities, interests, and beliefs. I really love how the drama doesn't easily categorize them into "evil" or "good" but shows how their morals and sense of right/wrong are extremely subjective, sometimes compete with each other, and can also be questioned depending on who is at the receiving end of that justice.

I'm only near the beginning, but like some other watchers I've found myself kind of losing investment in the story between Bai Shuo and Fan Yue, and instead being really interested in the side characters instead.

I'm wondering is there any romantic subtext between Chen Ye and Fu Ling? They have so much potential chemistry (almost the perfect enemies-to-lovers setup) even just from that first scene I watched them in, and honestly I'd actually be entirely down for some kind of romantic triangle between Fu Ling, Chen Ye, and Chong Zhao, simply because all of the actors are doing a fantastic job with these characters. (I also could be totally wrong about this, but would love to know before continuing to put time into this one!)

I have a very, very hard time actually rating this drama because as others mentioned, it's absolutely excellent and almost top-tier in the first 20 episodes of the drama, and then from there it struggles and becomes swamped with addressing the motivations and goals of its other cast of characters. Those who have watched Fei Wo Si Cun's other dramas (e.g. Eastern Palace/Goodbye my Princess) will be familiar with the structure of the series; an almost epic-like romance where we have "two parts," in which part one is when characters get to know each other and fall in love as they mutually support each other in the outskirts, forests, and military camps, and then part two when characters enter the palace and have to contend with the complexities of the ascent to the throne.

I agree with others when they mention that this is one of Xu Kai's best recent performances — his roles post-AMA have stagnated and often reflect copies of each other (either the "playful and mischievous golden retriever bad boy" or the "cold and aloof black cat"). Although this role didn't exactly deviate too far from his previous roles, he absolutely nailed many of the scenes that really showed Li Ni's growth as a character, his reluctance to ascend to the throne, and his absolute devotion to the people he cares for the most. He and Jing Tian also have fantastic chemistry, and Jing Tian's performance as Cui Lin was absolutely well-balanced in terms of her absolute wit and intelligence, the way she functioned as Li Ni's equal and rival, while also not being infallible or immune to schemes or plots against her. They did a fantastic job showing the natural transition from enemies to friends to lovers, and the epic odyssey that they take in entering the throne bolsters the beautiful forms of mutual reciprocity and respect they have for each other.

Now on to the latter half of the drama, perhaps the strength of the series is that its ending probably one of the best in dramaland, in which not only is it a happy ending, but all of the loose ends are tied up well, the ending is logical and consistent, and also reflects back on broader themes raised in the very beginning of the show. To get to this point, however, you have to navigate a whole bunch of side characters that aren't really compelling or continue to rehash the same conversations about usurping/scheming against/betraying our main characters, and a show that can't be put down in the beginning slowly starts becoming a watch that can only be completed through fast-forwarding. Perhaps the most interesting villain with an actual justification for his background and his motives is Liu Chengfeng, but he becomes so dramatic and out-of-touch with reality that his characterization almost becomes cartoonish and laughable by the latter stretch of the drama. It's a shame because Gao Han actually did a great job showing the transition of a man who is deeply in love and willing to defer to Cui Lin at the risk of his own life, to someone who is utterly creepy, disgusting, and psychotic. The problem was that in losing his multifaceted characteristics, he became less a villain to be taken seriously and more of another side character that the audience can't wait to see gone from the drama.

Again, this drama was absolutely still worth watching, and I really, really enjoyed it. I came after watching Blossom (2024), and it absolutely hit the notes of a power couple who are equal in character and competence for me. The cinematography is also gorgeous and you can really see that it's the same director of The Untamed, as a lot of the pacing in the first stretch really adopts the same notes and beats of its predecessor. Unfortunately, you will have to really lower your expectations for an extremely boring second half; I have no doubt that had the drama ended at the first stretch with them entering the palace it would likely have been rated much higher and acquired a lot more buzz than it did in its original run.

Alright, sending a quick question to my seasoned xianxia and wuxia viewers, mostly in order to help set my expectations before watching this one — current pros/cons of the show? How does it stack up so far to some of the big-name titles (e.g. Love and Redemption, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, Ashes of Love, etc.?) And any things you feel viewers should be aware about before starting (or anything that might impact viewer's enjoyment?) Thank you!

Definitely excited about this one — Wang Yuwen excels at being one of the queens of the fluffy contemporary romcom and has excellent chemistry with all of her partners, while Chen Xingxu's move into romcoms after Goodbye My Princess hasn't really seemed to pan out well for him. Both of them have strong acting skills and I honestly feel like their scripts haven't been as strong as what they're capable of performance-wise. Hoping that this drama becomes popular especially as it's adapted from a webnovel, and the transition from the 2020s and the 1990s will definitely be nostalgic for viewers who are interested in watching a period focused around the development and popularization of the Internet!

There are a lot of mixed comments, likely because this is a drama that will really depend on your expectations for enjoyment. For those who are on the fence about watching, I'll try to briefly summarize these discussions:

Overall, the cinematography, setting, clothing, etc. are all well done, and the colour palette is really pretty. It's nice to see a drama that focuses on a couple who met in college but instead takes place mostly in their post-graduate life, and that both of them have different careers and their own goals and dreams when it comes to their lives. I think the thriller and romance genre combination is really interesting when done well and there have been a slate of dramas that focus on combining "true crime" and "romance" together. However, the problem is that in this one it does tackle really heavy themes around suicide and mental health while also trying to throw in fluffy and cute moments (e.g. being jealous of others, always pining after the other person, etc.) which can be a bit jarring.

Huang Jingyu and Sun Qian do have good chemistry; Sun Qian is a fantastic actress although sometimes her scripts aren't really up to par, while Huang Jingyu is playing a character that you've likely seen in his other roles — in part because his image fits a certain niche that is relatively underrepresented across other actors and idols, and so it's inevitable he constantly plays some kind of policeman/action hero/firefighter/etc. I think most of the criticism comes towards Lu Yan's characterization; in some ways because of what she's going through and her trauma she seems like an unreliable narrator/needs professional help rather than romance, but I do think it is refreshing to see a protagonist who IS really competent at her career and yet is struggling through some very difficult personal experiences and trauma. On Huang Jingyu, the criticisms are focused around a variety of things — including very serious allegations around his personal life and the fact that he always picks up scripts where he's essentially playing a replication of his previous characters.

On plot, this is again the main issue; the drama essentially combines what you think of as fluffy romance with things like murders, stalking, psychological issues, mental health issues, etc. This series is part of iQiyi's Love On series which consists of original scripts that are pretty diverse in topic and genre (e.g. it includes Love Between Fairy and Devil and Story of Kunning Palace), so on one hand, the combination is quite interesting for a romance watch. On the other hand, you're not going to find really good representation around healthcare, policing, psychology, etc. and all of the industries related to these issues in the drama (primarily because things are focused not on showing good medical care but rather on developing plot and unfolding the traumas the protagonists experienced). So again, you will absolutely have to lower your expectations when it comes to some of the logical hurdles and stretches that the drama makes for thriller reasons, and I would genuinely take the plot points (despite their heavy content) not that seriously because of the way they're written and thrown into the story.

If you're okay with all of these issues, and you want to watch a love story with thriller elements, which also has pretty supportive hero with a heroine who is more introverted and dealing with traumas, then I think the show is good to kill time with and enjoy. Again, take it too seriously and its flaws will definitely easily be exposed. This is no masterpiece and it feels like an adult romance drama that kind of tacked on a serial murder case to escape the plot issues of other romcoms (e.g. when the couple gets together and the plot kind of loses steam since most of it was focused on the couple developing romantic feelings anyways). However, if you can accept these limitations, it definitely is still a worthy watch and the quality overall is quite decent for a contemporary series.