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fun & cute
Typically I don't get thru CDramas very fast unless I'm watching smth as it airs, but as a huge Chen Zheyuan fan and romance lover, I blasted thru this in 5 days LOL. So, firstly, this show is hysterical. Like, I basically giggled my way thru the first 2/3 of the show. Chen Zheyuan is soooooo good at the more dramatic roles, but this proved how incredible he is at comedy too (and after this I wish he would do more comedy!!!). Also Xiao Wudi's character growth!!!!!!!!!!!!! How he went from self-centered and stuck up to lovesick yearner to a sweet, caring, and protective boyfriend... ugh Chen Zheyuan always deliversssssss. I was unfamiliar with Shen Yue before this, but she was so enchanting in this and also I related too hard to the awkward loner girl who never dated until her 20s LOL. She also had really really great comedic timing. The chemistry between Chen Zheyuan and Shen Yue was also excellent — but then again this is my 7th Chen Zheyuan show and he has had crazy chemistry with his co-leads in everything so far so that's not a surprise LOL.
Now, you might be wondering why I didn't give this a higher rating given all that gushing. As adorable as I found the main pairing, I do have some criticisms. Now, the criticisms can be overlooked — I def think this is still worth a watch if the premise intrigues you — but I do have them lol. So my main criticism is that this lowkey pedaled the idea that "if a boy treats you badly that means he likes you" which is complete bullshit and I hate that it's still a narrative being pushed. If someone is not treating you well, get out. Do not put up with an unsatisfying relationship or someone who makes you sad bc of some idea of needing to stick around and wait for things to change! Don't do it! (And while, yes, it's not impossible that bad treatment might stem from someone liking you and not knowing how to handle those feelings, usually this is not the case lol. Every guy growing up who treated me like shit did so bc I'm very plain looking and they perceived me as subhuman since they weren't interested in me.) The Mao Xiaojun plot twist pushed this idea and honestly the secondary pairing kind of did as well — I was never really into Lu Zichen and Ye Qing, but my god did he become insufferable in the second half of the show. So speedrun version of their relationship is that they've both been secretly in love with each other for years; Ye Qing is convinced that Lu Zichen is uninterested so she's pursuing other relationships and Lu Zichen is just now trying to pursue her. He learns she has a boyfriend, and then he kills off the lead character in his novel that is based on Ye Qing so...... that's pretty yikes! Once Ye Qing and her current boyfriend break up, Lu Zichen gets super excited and is immediately trying to figure out how to pursue her again. Bleh. I didn't like that he dumped all of his feelings on Nan Xing and kept begging her for advice, like that is so unprofessional and you're her boss, like she can't just ignore this bc the power imbalance here. Anyway, Lu Zichen finally gets up the nerve to tell Ye Qing and then when she doesn't agree to become a couple (bc she has concerns about how their work would be affected), he's then throwing a temper tantrum for like 2-3 episodes. Lu Zichen sucks so badddddd, like he's not the worst 2ML I've ever seen but he was TERRIBLE. Okay, my last complaint before I shut up: the worldbuilding is kinda barebones. Like, some of the dynamics still shine — Nan Xing x Xiao Wudi and Nan Xing & her mom — but why don't I fully understand what anyone's job is at X-Culture? Why do I know basically nothing about any of these popular novels that Nan Xing and Lu Zichen write? I get that the focus is the romance that the whole story revolves around, but I do wish there had been a little bit more emphasis on getting a strong backdrop for all of this LOL.
Anyway yes I had to complain a lot but I promise overall I did enjoy this!!!!! Chen Zheyuan continues to not let me down with his choice of roles🫶
Also if that final scene was implying what I think it was implying, I'm ignoring it!!!! Why would you take away my whimsical fantasy like that 😤😤😤😤
Now, you might be wondering why I didn't give this a higher rating given all that gushing. As adorable as I found the main pairing, I do have some criticisms. Now, the criticisms can be overlooked — I def think this is still worth a watch if the premise intrigues you — but I do have them lol. So my main criticism is that this lowkey pedaled the idea that "if a boy treats you badly that means he likes you" which is complete bullshit and I hate that it's still a narrative being pushed. If someone is not treating you well, get out. Do not put up with an unsatisfying relationship or someone who makes you sad bc of some idea of needing to stick around and wait for things to change! Don't do it! (And while, yes, it's not impossible that bad treatment might stem from someone liking you and not knowing how to handle those feelings, usually this is not the case lol. Every guy growing up who treated me like shit did so bc I'm very plain looking and they perceived me as subhuman since they weren't interested in me.) The Mao Xiaojun plot twist pushed this idea and honestly the secondary pairing kind of did as well — I was never really into Lu Zichen and Ye Qing, but my god did he become insufferable in the second half of the show. So speedrun version of their relationship is that they've both been secretly in love with each other for years; Ye Qing is convinced that Lu Zichen is uninterested so she's pursuing other relationships and Lu Zichen is just now trying to pursue her. He learns she has a boyfriend, and then he kills off the lead character in his novel that is based on Ye Qing so...... that's pretty yikes! Once Ye Qing and her current boyfriend break up, Lu Zichen gets super excited and is immediately trying to figure out how to pursue her again. Bleh. I didn't like that he dumped all of his feelings on Nan Xing and kept begging her for advice, like that is so unprofessional and you're her boss, like she can't just ignore this bc the power imbalance here. Anyway, Lu Zichen finally gets up the nerve to tell Ye Qing and then when she doesn't agree to become a couple (bc she has concerns about how their work would be affected), he's then throwing a temper tantrum for like 2-3 episodes. Lu Zichen sucks so badddddd, like he's not the worst 2ML I've ever seen but he was TERRIBLE. Okay, my last complaint before I shut up: the worldbuilding is kinda barebones. Like, some of the dynamics still shine — Nan Xing x Xiao Wudi and Nan Xing & her mom — but why don't I fully understand what anyone's job is at X-Culture? Why do I know basically nothing about any of these popular novels that Nan Xing and Lu Zichen write? I get that the focus is the romance that the whole story revolves around, but I do wish there had been a little bit more emphasis on getting a strong backdrop for all of this LOL.
Anyway yes I had to complain a lot but I promise overall I did enjoy this!!!!! Chen Zheyuan continues to not let me down with his choice of roles🫶
Also if that final scene was implying what I think it was implying, I'm ignoring it!!!! Why would you take away my whimsical fantasy like that 😤😤😤😤
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