Reviews

Wang Xiaoyi baby step for kissing scene.

I watched this last year and this is first time i see Wang Xiaoyi finally properly kissed someone but the first scene of their kisses was not really good because Ye Haoran didn't shaved and it look unclean, aside of that it was decent one. Ye Haoran plays safe in his field—obsessive younger brother ML. The chemistry was still okay to watch even it was barely minimum but for Wang Xiaoyi level its okay (if you look for her earliest drama especially romance its was not really good). The styling was okay too.

The plot was actually simple. A cunning and manipulative younger brother flirts with his wife in various ways, becoming her assistant and gaining her favor. FL endures this mistreatment, but gradually falls for him. It's a sweet and engaging story, not angsty at all.

Recommended to watch if you are look for simple drama.

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A COLLISION OF WORLDS. (SECOND TIME WATCHING IT)

The drama "Gen Z" follows Sun Tou Tou, a spirited orphan working as a delivery driver whose life changes when renowned TCM professor Ren Xing Zheng discovers she is the last descendant of a legendary acupuncture lineage. Invited into his new apprenticeship program, she clashes with his son Ren Tian Zhen and a diverse group of students as they grow from skeptical beginners into dedicated practitioners, with a subtle but enjoyable enemies-to-lovers romance between Tou Tou and Ren Tian Zhen.

Zhao Lusi shines as Sun Tou Tou, bringing an unfiltered, chaotic, funny, yet vulnerable charm that balances the drama’s more academic moments. The heart of the show lies in the relationships between the professor and his students, especially the touching, non-blood-related father-daughter bond between Ren Xing Zheng and Tou Tou. For viewers curious about herbalism, acupuncture, or Yin-Yang philosophy, the series serves as a visually engaging introduction to TCM as both medicine and a holistic lifestyle, enhanced by serene cinematography and calming natural landscapes.

However, the drama has been criticized for its patriarchal undertones. Professor Ren often comes across as rigid and self-righteous, prioritizing tradition over modern sensibilities, which may alienate viewers who prefer more progressive leads. Although branded as a Gen Z story, its tone feels traditional and old-school, with student rebellion largely portrayed as something to outgrow in order to respect elders. At 40 episodes, the pacing also suffers, with a repetitive midsection and some secondary student subplots that overstay their welcome.

Overall, "Gen Z" is a slow-burn healing drama that rewards patient viewers with warmth, wisdom, and a distinctive focus on traditional Chinese medicine. Despite occasional preachy writing and pacing issues, it stands out for its unique premise, heartfelt mentorship storyline, and strong cast chemistry—making it a worthwhile watch.

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Scent of Time or Scent of Dream.. the title itself is still a confusion in my mind.

Frankly, this plot had so many moments that turned me into a full sentimental mess. Anyone can find at least one similarity with the FL’s life that they’ve faced in their own reality: being misunderstood even when your intentions are good, watching people who aren’t that great receive all the limelight, or being last on someone’s priority list after you’ve literally dried yourself trying to fill their glass till it overflows.

But honestly, I wasn’t looking for this level of melodrama when I picked this series. A reborn/second-chance-in-life trope is supposed to offer lot more than just crying, suffering, and emotional exhaustion. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the writer’s bias towards certain characters in both dream and reality killed a lot of joy for me. Maids playing politics in the house creating chaos walked away with warnings, other butlers doing more shady things and face nothing yet only the FL’s father (who is supposedly rich and powerful) is convicted for one-time corruption, while walk free after his son's murder charges without facing any punishment and he couldn't even do anything about it . Some characters are openly involved in kidnapping and assassination, yet never caught, never punished. Justice took a long vacation in this drama.

So the plot goes like this: the FL travels back in time to correct her mistakes, and to some extent she does live up to that expectation. With all odds against her and being surrounded by betrayers and horrible people, she practically survives a humanity pandemic.
The ML remained utterly useless till the end. Pathetic in her dreams and reality. Even after she wakes up from the coma, people manage to hurt her right in front of his eyes. Honestly, I might also choose eternal slumber over him. A coma seems more peaceful and emotionally safer. But fine, for what it’s worth, he didn’t give up on her in real life, so applause for basic loyalty. The bar is low, but at least he didn’t trip over it.

I specifically hated Mu Yao and Ye Lan. I don’t know why, but even with all their tragedy, I couldn’t feel bad for them. No sympathy. No tears. Nothing. In fact, I would have loved it if the writer introduced an impotence issue in Ye Lan, making Mu Yan leave him. Perfect ending for this annoying couple.

Zhou Ye absolutely aces the bubble role and She was good here, but definitely not her best character choice. Someone like Sun Zhen Ni might have suited this role better. WXY was good as the ML, even with such limited screen time. The rest of the cast is filled with familiar, frequently seen faces.

bGM is good... styling is simple and worth one time watching.

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Lower your expectations

(PSA: ALWAYS check the premiere dates and compare them with the dates of those glowing 10 star reviews if you want honest feedback. Some reviewers claim they have watched ALL the episodes even though the series has barely started. Do yourself a favor and go to the their review history. 🚩🚩🚩 red flags if you see only ONE review about said drama)

Lower your expectations when it comes to the storyline and overall storytelling. True crime series from Thailand often lack the budget and technical resources needed to deliver a gripping and polished crime drama. However, the issue is not only about production limitations. Some of the narrative decisions are questionable from a logical standpoint.

For example, how can someone calmly enjoy a relaxing bubble bath after receiving a ToD note, especially when their friends who received the same notes have already died? Moments like this make it difficult to stay immersed in the story. You have to ask yourself whether a writer who makes this kind of logical choice can truly deliver a compelling true crime drama.

There are no particularly engaging deductions, detailed forensic analysis, or tightly constructed investigative threads to elevate the tension. If you switch off your critical thinking and watch it purely as light entertainment, you may find it more enjoyable.

Overall, it was a poorly written I-Know-What-You-Did-Last-Summer wannabe mess.

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This show is mid, but very unique.

This is the most original show I've ever seen! Who would think to write a romance between a panther and penguin? Junior was extremely cute, but Sun was dry for most of the series. I would give the acting a C grade. It didn't have any emotional impact in my opinion, but it wasn't horrible. When Sun died, Junior's reaction was flat. The cuts were choppy, and the kiss scenes were awkward. I didn't like that their faces stayed in one position every time they kissed, and they never paused to breathe. It was very unnatural. Overall, Caged Again is a strange yet pleasant watch. I would recommend it to someone who's bored.

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This drama is quite hard for me to rate. On one hand the acting by the main leads is top. Yes, Esther's voice is ever so controversial, but I feel she has done her best acting to date here. She has many epic moments with -for the cdrama genre-a surprising amount of emotional impact. The ML did well, took me a few epis to realize he is the ML from My Secret Boy. When the production team allowed him to be the bad boy, he really delivered.

On the other hand though, the story is on the bad side of mediocre, or rather it's just plain bad. Even if we ignore the ridiculousness of the specifics pertaining to the underground racing theme -which is super hard to do, because OH MY GAWD- , even then it would be difficult to not see how outlandish the plots are. ML's goals, his older "friend's" goals, alternative uses of supercars and the list of ridiculous could go on and on and on..
(We can safely assume the most people watching this show know nothing about car physics or racing & thus we can pretend the drama takes place in a parallel universe where the laws of physics are different. )

The forced separation in this one is one of the worst I seem to recall*. Sure, the fluff following after is enjoyable enough, but the finale is weird too, for instance FL's mom has gotten a complete rewrite. I'm sure the drama's defenders would say that she always loved ML, but felt immense guilt & that's why she acted like she has throughout the show, but I'm not buying it. In my opinion the writer had no idea how to wrap up the show, so after procrastination they wrapped up the mom & ML's relationship in a way that is almost as bad as a 30 minute shouting match would've been & I hate those quite a bit too.
I have questions actually, did they cut a ton of footage from the planned ending? Like what happened to FL's dad & his family?

*Scratch that, Sniper Butterfly has not happened that long ago :P

The color filter in the early episodes made me think of the NFS:UG games. It's a bit weird, but not bad weird.

The OST doesn't have much of an impact, but decided to rate the Music as a 10, because there are 2 tunes that I really liked.

Despite everything I said so far, there are moments when this show really works as a vibe drama, but most of it is not that unfortunately. The filming in Thailand really helped a lot, since at the very least -largely thanks to that- this is a rather lively drama, at least compared to what usually comes from China & that's why I decided to go for a 7 as my final score and not potentially much lower.

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So much chemistry between the leads. Don't miss this fun and heartwarming rom com.

Things I adored

1 The ML. He's perfect for the green flag hero. It's rare to have someone who didn't even once was rude to the heroine. Playful, yes. Falsely annoyed, yes. But all along the series he was the perfect enemy at first, the perfect boyfriend later and a perfect human. Was it believable? Absolutely and that's where the actor shone. Make his character believable. It's the first drama I watched with him an I will definitely look for others. He's so charming, he can act and he can deliver humor and romantic banter, the two pillars of a rom com. So yes, I adored him, je was perfect in his role.

2 The parents of the ML. Both wonderful until the last scene but I had a preference for his mother who was funny and mischievous. I loved her relationship with her son and how lovely she way with the heroine. The father was also great with his son, the heroine and his wife. All in all, a perfect family.

3 The 2FL. Such a great actress and so charming. I loved who she was and how her story ended. I wanted for her to achieve her goals on every field and things went well. I loved the girls' friendship as well, she was a great friend, and her quirkiness. I loved that she was an author who worked hard and has dreams she tried to make true.

4 The Directors of the village clinic. I loved both of them. They had great chemistry and were so good to the doctors. They advised them, they cared about them and they had a sense of humor. I loved their friendship and they complemented well the heroine and the hero when they interacted. It was fun and heartwarming.

5 The chemistry between the leads. It's rare in a rom com to see such chemistry although it should be the first preoccupation of the director and the cast director and the producers. They usually fail and leave me perplexed of why did they cast these actors. but here both were great actors who managed to show us how well they were together and how much in love. I loved all their interactions. At the village clinic, at work, at their private moments. One of the best couples I've seen in a rom com. And it's worth a mention they openly (well almost) talked about protection. How great is this? Truly a great rom com.

6 The funny scenes, and they were quite a few, between the leads, but also between the leads and other characters.

Things I loved

1 The FL. I should probably put her in the "adore" list, but she's too average looks wise to fit my rom com heroine profile. That said, she did a great job here and loved her performance. Especially when she became more lovable than antagonistic. She changed a lot from the beginning to the end of the drama and in a good way. I loved how she learned to be a more joyous person who appreciated each moment for what it is. I loved how caring she was and how smart. I also loved how playful she was in the last episode. Such a striking contrast with the first episode. She also matched the hero's playfulness in this episode which somehow made things come full circle.

2 The 2ML. I thought I wouldn't like him at first but I ended up loving him. I wish I could see the second couple more together, but it's still fine to know they will have their happy ending. They were so cute together.

3 The mother of the FL. She didn't have many scenes but I loved her relationship with her daughter and I loved the last scene they had together.

4 The proposal. I loved the setting. Something different and nice to the eye. I didn't love the ring, though. But still a simple, fitting for them proposal.

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Love Prevails

This drama was honestly such a surprise for me. I didn’t expect it to tug at my heart the way it did, but it really got me. It’s quiet, emotional, and deeply sincere.

What I appreciated most was the storytelling. The pacing felt intentional and necessary for this kind of love story. The show carefully sets up the completely different worlds of the female lead and male lead — her life defined by responsibility and pressure, his by warmth and freedom. Watching those two worlds slowly intersect and seeing them gradually fall for one another felt natural and earned. Nothing was rushed, and that made the emotions hit even harder.

At its core, the story is beautifully simple: two people meet, and they fall in love. Yes, there are endless obstacles. It feels like almost everyone in their lives tells them to break up. The societal expectations, family pressures, reputations — all of it stands in their way. But the heart of the drama never wavers.

Love prevails.
And in the end, love wins.

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Angry Birds

Strange Chronicles of Tang is a spin-off of the Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty series that can be considered a short Season 4, even though the production side-steps using the inauspicious number in the title. It comprises two cases that were shot alongside the eight of Season 3. The production has been exploring different formats for this IP, here breaking the two cases into twenty-one eighteen-minute episodes.

The fifteen-episode Jiěyōu Diàn (Relief-from-Woes Shop) showcases all the elements that have made this franchise a hit across multiple seasons. The chilling mystery plot is tightly written and simply pulls you in—from the mesmerizing rain dancer to the superb action scenes and macabre horror elements that carry a genuine sense of imminent peril. For some reason, I was truly quite freaked out by the angry birds. The sessions at Jiěyōu Diàn, where the team shares their darkest secrets, hopes, and fears, are very neatly woven into the plot. Overall, it's a punchy, efficient way for newcomers to get acquainted with the team. I also love that they reveal more of the always hilarious Chicken Fei's backstory.

While I enjoyed both cases, I feel the eighteen-minute episode format breaks the sense of immersion. And the timeout for character introductions, though well integrated, felt like a bit of a digression from the first case. Other than that, no serious complaints.

I rate this 8.5/10—it's a great way for new audiences to dip their toes into this series.

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A slice of life in a Metropolitan City involving an eccentric interior designer and a medical doctor

Plot/Story 9.5/10
I gave a high mark for this romance-comedy drama because it portrays a glimpse of life for a number of people living in a busy Shanghai City, which involved with their survival, their dealings with money and family issues, and their pursue of happiness. There are pressures for one of the main characters to get married through blind dates, while another is getting away from a relationship. As one of the female character mentioned, she said that blind dates for men are categorized into three types: the ones who want to meet new girls and flirt, the ones who wants to satisfy their parents, and the unusual types who can be considered as eccentric or weirdos. Living in a big city is always about money - how to earn and spend it. This drama is successful in combining the funny comedy with the awkwardness of living in a society of the big cities. The story and the dialogues can be considered as corky, unusual, witty, amusing, full of funny an awkward moments at the same times, and lots of interpretations and misunderstandings. I enjoyed watching it again and again, as the number of episodes appear to be just right.

Cast/Characters
Cast 9/10
The main characters are Yu yu, as senior interior designer; and Dr. Gu, a medical doctor working at a private hospital. They were played by actor Wallace Huo, and actress Zhu Zhu, respectively. Yu yu worked in a firm which was managed by Ms. Lin, and an assistant designer named Shen Wu and his girlfriend Xiao xiao. Ms. Lin was played by Zhang Yao; Shen Wu by Fei Qi Ming, and Xiao xiao by Fan Jing Yi. A young lady named Xiao Man moved and became a neighbour of Yu yu. She was played by Eleanor Lee.
In my opinion, the actors and actresses in this drama are perfect matches. Wallace Huo is a handsome and experience actor; and Zhu zhu is exceptionally pretty. She has a beautiful smile with the two dimples near her mouth.

Characters 9/10
Yu yu is rather eccentric, a perfectionist and somewhat an awkward person when dealing with others. he has money, but generous and appears to be a considerate and nice man inside. Xiao Man works at a car dealer and owns a pug dog named Dao. She moved in next door of Yu yu's apartment and become neighbours.
Dr. Gu came into the picture from the start of the drama at a movie theatre , where she met with Yu yu's through a mishap of sitting on the wrong seat the the cinema. She then met Yu yu many times again at the hospital through series of accidents that he encountered in his daily life. where he ended up under Dr. Gu's care.
Xiao Man is tight with her money, but she is good at cooking. She and Dr. Gu become good friends through strange connections with Yu yu.
Other characters who are interesting included Yu yu's friend who owns a store renting/selling old collectibles such as music CDs and DVD movies. Then, there is Dr. Gu's dad who is also eccentric likes Yu yu, who tries to set blind dates to her daughter. He owns a Harley bike, which put some interest to Yu yu's unusual collections of hobbies ( animal clay figures, a Vespa motorcycle, a remote control racing car toy).

Music 8/10
I found a few beautiful and memorable tunes, including the Auld Lang Syne song used during a ritual for sending off Harley bikes to the museum

Rewatch Value 8.5/10
I like to watch some of the episodes to get a better understanding of the story or for the details of the drama of this film. Some of the dialogues are funny, but corky and they need to be watched again a few times so that they can be observed with their facial expressions more closely.

Scenery/Filmography 8.5/10
Some nice sceneries on the river bank at nights, fireworks and the landmark of Shanghai.

Personal comments
- Dr. Gu has the nicest dimples when she smiles
- I think the character chosen as Xiao Man's boyfriend appears to be a little too old for her age.
- Interesting song selected for Auld Lang Syne
- A surprise hobby of Yu yu with the remote control car racing, where he competes with kids
- a rather unique Harley Davidson motor bike club of Dr. Gu's dad
- Unusually high amount of mishaps/accidents, ending up at the hospital and makes Dr, Gu busy.
- There is no corkier event when celebrating a retirement for Harley bikes among Dr. Gu's dad and his close friends.

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One of the best dark romance dramas so far

I usually don't write reviews, but here I had to!!
To be fair, I wasn't planning to watch this beforehand when I saw Huang Bo as the ML (his past few dramas have been quite similar ; where he either plays a scumbag or a psychopath lol) until I saw the female lead is Zhao Fei Yan one of the most beautiful c actress out there 😍😍. She's one of my favorite actress too!
This drama is not that bad as the other user mentioned! I've seen worse!!!!
Why I loved this drama?
This might be the only Chinese Short Drama that I love watching every single day without getting tired of it! I am just a sucker for dramas when the ML falls first and the FL falls harder which is rare in C Dramas infact in the world of dramas ! That's the reason why ppl loves watching 'The Magnificent Century' TV Series and 'My Demon' K-Drama.
Well, the opening scene of "Tragic Kiss/ Kiss of Sorrow" pretty much reminded me of 'Debauchery' by Zhen Zi Qi & Zhao Xixi and Heart Stealing Transaction by Du Ya Fei & Zhang Zi Han but infact, the drama was even hotter than those because here the FL fell in love with the younger brother and definitely not with the scheming one 😏🔥!
The Male lead Li Ren Zhi and Zhao Fei Yan literally stole the show for me ❤️‍🔥 .
Frankly, Zhao Fei Yan was the most suited actress for this role. She has innocent features and divine beauty! She might be in her prime thirties but her innocence seems as if she's still in her twenties or late twenties. But ppl who usually likes watching seductress female leads calling them strong female lead, certainly won't be able to accept a FL like ZFY who has innocent facial features. To say she was miscast is simply unreasonable and ridiculous!

The Chemistry between Li Ren Zhi & Zhao Fei Yan was beyond amazing that Huang Bo stands no chance at all. You could easily sense the tension between them 🤌🏻 ❤️‍🔥!! Their electrifying chemistry created such a buzz althru the Chinese social media platforms despite their age difference and less intimacy shown in the drama . Their emotional scenes had depth and some of their scenes were so intense that I literally cried (rare). I've never seen any one questioning their chemistry becuz that's just a bad joke . I have seen Li Ren Zhi in a lot of male oriented, system trope,inner mind reading dramas before, but I never expected him to see in such a dark drama. Among all his Co stars, I think Zhao Fei was the best match for him even though he's really good at creating chemistry with his partners ✨ . I really thank the producers for casting them together and wish they could collaborate again and AGAIN FOR THE NTH Time!!
And lemme say, both of the male leads were evil.Huang Bo's character was a narcissistic psychopath but Li Ren Zhi's character even though he was a total 🚩 for some reasons was kinda interesting. I think he was the only well written character in the whole show!! He was smart, cool and unfazed! I was totally shocked when he didn't react at all after the sml and FL jumped off the top, rather he handled it in a easy way 😱😱!!
I agree that the plot was kinda disappointing, as the story moved forward but it doesn't mean that it was worse 🤷🏻‍♀️ . As this was supposed to be revenge based show , it could be a little more exciting plus I really hate the childhood love story cliché bringing out of nowhere suddenly 🙄
And oops, The triangle thing?? İ felt it more like a rectangle lol 😅. The sister of the FL, ie. THE SFL was the most stupid character for falling in love with the wrong person that she even attempted to kill her own sister ! Since both of the sisters fell in love with the two brothers. It would be even more interesting if the sml fell in love with the sfl and change himself for her or for the better but unfortunately it is what it is 🤷‍♀🤷‍♀!!
The ending :.
I loved it 😭 !! I really loved that the leads got their fairytale HE. The female lead clearly lied to herself from the start when she was the one who fell head over heels in love with the ML otherwise she had no reason to save himself risking her own life claiming it as a revenge just because she saw his inner feelings 🙂🤷‍♀. He loved her yet never admitted it neither showed his feelings 🥹! I was happy how they found their safe place in each other at the end which they deserved 🙌🏻 🖖🏻.

I highly recommend this drama becuz I quite enjoyed watching it 🤞🏻. I don't care what nonsense things ppl say by being biased but it was really worth every bit of it 💯 !!
My only sadness is that I wished this drama was longer cuz I really didn't had enough watching the sizzling interactions between LRZ and ZFY. I hope they gets paired up again 🥹 👍🏻

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"Think more, feel more, and produce less."

I really underestimated No Pain No Gain. Watching it puts me in such a good mood. It’s a refreshing and funny office drama about a video game company, filled with quirky and lovable characters. I can’t stop grinning and laughing.

The plot:
Pei Qian is given startup capital to launch projects and run a company. However, the payment structure is reversed: if the project makes a profit, he only receives a small base salary. But if the project loses money, the amount of the loss becomes his bonus. Pei Qian decides to deliberately try to lose money in order to earn more. But his employees are unaware of this. And things are not going according to his plans at all... Meaning: the company keeps achieving unexpected success. The employees are overjoyed and celebrate, while Pei Qian secretly goes off to cry.

Pei Qian is a great boss. Let me briefly introduce a few rules and benefits that employees of his company have:
- There is no probation period for new employees.
- No long or unnecessary speeches from leaders.
- Meetings are relaxed and informal. Gossiping and small talk are encouraged.
- Employees must use the company's own gym and entertainment facilities for at least four hours per week.
- Flexible start time after weekends or holidays.
- Overtime is strictly forbidden.
- Public holidays that fall on weekends are moved to weekdays.

What a dream, right!? I'm submitting my application immediately.

The characters:
First place in terms of my favorite characters definitely goes to Pei Qian. He's such a silly, creative, ambitious, generous, and witty cutie patootie.
His mission began with him vehemently trying to lose money with his company. In doing so, he spoiled all his employees immensely, ensuring they had a really good working life. They were able to show what they were truly capable of without overworking themselves or being treated unfairly in any other way. At first, this meant that Pei Qian himself was significantly worse off financially. But he didn't give up most of the time. And he has undergone such a positive development!!!

What's more, the others quickly realised how lucky they were to have Pei Qian as their boss. They really loved him and wanted to help him... And well... Pei Qian has slowly taken everyone into his heart. All in all, the whole of Tengda became one big family.

Secondly, I really like Li Shi. At first, I thought he might become a new annoying rival, but omg, was I wrong! That kind-hearted, milk-drinking smiley face! He became Pei Qian's biggest fan and surprisingly supported him so many times when things got dicey. Thank you, darling!

Thirdly, Xin Hailu is simply wonderful. At the beginning, she seemed to be just an observer, emotionally rather detached from the company. But more and more, she saw how much good Pei Qian actually does and how happy it makes everyone. She clearly admired him for this and ultimately became a supportive force for him.

Of course, I also took all the other key employees at Tengda into my heart. It couldn't have been any other way!

Ma Yang is truly Pei Qian's best bro. He even became jealous when Pei Qian seemed to have a better bro relationship with someone else. He can be a bit (or a lot) silly and hot-heated, but has a big heart and really enjoys helping others to realise their dreams.

Huang Sibo is such a hard-working, kind soul. He is prone to falling into stressful downward spirals that cause him great despair, but he nevertheless remains energetic and motivated. No one can stop this man. He just keeps going and going.

Lin Wan is attentive, composed and strong. While almost no one notices what Pei Qian is actually struggling with, she has a certain sense that something is not quite right. Developing games is her passion, and she does everything she can to achieve her goals. Above all: making players happy. She is also good at motivating others.

Lv Mingliang wants to keep as low a profile as possible. He doesn't want to draw too much attention with all his talents, because he is afraid of being taken advantage of. At the same time, he is always there for his team and is quickly persuaded to use his talents - and that clearly gives him happiness.

Tengda has many other great employees. I will miss them all. It was wonderful to spend time with them and see what great things Tengda will achieve.

The OST:
I still listen to the OST very often after I finished watching this drama. I'm not used to hearing so many pop/EDM songs sung in English in a Chinese drama. I really like it. It suits the vibe. My favorite songs are New Born by Dong You Lin, and Shadows Dancing by Mi Ka.

Favorite funny scene: When Pei Qian accidentally ended up being the designated driver for the drunk Li Shi and Zhou Muyan and didn’t want them to recognize him, so he put on some kind of bank robber mask. Brilliant idea. Of course, it made him look extremelyyyy trustworthy! And how cute it was that Li Shi and Zhou Muyan were practically cuddling in the back seat. Zhou Muyan was suspicious about the mask the whole time, and Li Shi was completely relaxed. Then suddenly the near accident, where Pei Qian’s driving skills were insanely impressive. Then the foot chase and Zhou Muyan’s diving tackle on Pei Qian. And finally, all three of them at the police station. Every single part of it was just delightful.

Final thoughts:
I decided to give the drama a 9.5 rating. I enjoyed it throughout and love the creativity in every episode. The business ideas are fantastic, unusual and innovative. That, combined with all the charming and quirky characters, made for really good and truly funny entertainment.

But the drama can feel repetitive here and there, and they used so much AI art, which is sad and just ugly. Both weren't a biiig problem for me, I could ignore it most of the time, but I still deducted 0.5 points.

This drama thrives on its unusual plot and all the multifaceted, lovable dorks!

Thank you, No Pain No Gain and especially Pei Qian, for making my evenings so delightful and for always putting a smile on my face.

[finished watching on 21 February 2026]

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JUST THINK OF THIS AS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

I read the manhwa first before watching this adaptation. And yes, just like many other people have mentioned, the two versions are different—there are actually quite a lot of changes, and some of them are very noticeable. Certain scenes feel altered, some character portrayals give off a slightly different impression, and a few details don’t match what I originally experienced in the manhwa.

Because of that, instead of constantly comparing every difference, I’ve decided it’s better to simply treat this adaptation as if it takes place in an alternate universe. That way, I can enjoy it for what it is, without letting the changes distract me too much from the overall experience.

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