Reviews

Promising start, but ...

I have mixed feelings about this show. While I felt fully engaged and loved the plot and characters in the first half of the show, my interest waned the more I watched. I think what I liked the most about this show was the scheming, but that tapered off after the first half and quickly became a romcom, which is unfortunate because I really don't think the actor for the ML is the right fit for comedy.

The chemistry itself is ... fine. I have gripes with the ML though, who felt super bland to me and didn't have enough of an appealing personality for me to forgive his past wrongdoings and root for them to get back together again. At one point, I think I actually just liked watching them separately succeed at their own jobs rather than together.

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Zhao Lusi successfully breaking her niche and tapping into versatile roles.

I was skeptical at first about the casting, which has to do with the age gap thing, and the fact that Zhao Lusi still has that youthful image, however, oh boy does she proved me wrong. I'm a huge fan of her performance in Love Like the Galaxy, however, this might be on par, if not, better. I thought her acting in this drama is top tier and the emotions which she portrayed has so many layers - which imo, I think she should do these roles more often. I do think she did a successful job at transitioning into a more mature roles to get away from that girlish, youthful image.
The story started with this 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' dynamic between the two couple, whom had hidden their true backstories, which later resulted in divorce because one of them couldn't continue with this act - only for the ML to realize he does love her for real.
The story concept is so well developed and the idea is very unique. It was so well written, at least, from the beginning to mid-end. It could've been a 10, however, it's lost some of its way at the later episodes. I feel like Chinese dramas tends to flip the story into a more tense and rush the pace at the last 3 episodes, which was the same case as this drama - though they somewhat did a decent job at polishing it. However, I still hoped that they did a smoother transition and have a better pace in the overall story.
The costumes department did a good job as well, I know Zhao Lusi is a Versace girlie and I thought she looked good in every wardrobe, Versace or not.
Overall, I thought the drama deserved its high anticipation.

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This was fun but it started dragging towards the end after the Marquis died! Fast forwarded towards the end, the writing couldn’t have been better there!
Acting by the ML, Marquis and Shifu was amazing. The initial half was too gory and the ML relied heavily on luck instead of brains there. Towards the middle, it was really amazing with the ML actually using his brain for revenge. But the last 6-7 episodes introduced too many characters and plot twists, some of which were really contrived that it got hard to watch. Over all good, but could have been amazing with better writing. The FL had amazing fighting scenes but otherwise didn’t much care for her.

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When Cold Walls Slowly Break”

Taiwanese Drama: Be Loved in House: I Do
Episodes: 13 (each 23–28 minutes)

This drama is well-made in terms of cinematography, directing, music selection, and the smooth transitions between scenes and events. The music, in particular, matches the atmosphere beautifully — its rhythm is pleasant and never distracting.

The sequence of events flows naturally. Nothing felt rushed or dragged out. Across 13 episodes, the progression of the story remained clear, steady, and easy to follow. Each episode connected seamlessly to the next, which helped the viewer stay immersed without confusion.

As for the actors, their performances were impressive and brought their characters to life:

Jin Yu Zhen (“Real”): His portrayal of a cold, distant character was excellent. His seriousness and rejection of relationships felt real. At first, his attitude was provoking and made me dislike him — which is a good thing because it means he successfully embodied the role and made me feel what his character wanted to convey.

Shi Lei: A stubborn yet warm and childish character. I liked how balanced his portrayal was — persistent but also considerate of others. His efforts to understand Jin Yu Zhen’s mentality and break through his emotional walls were heartfelt.

Yan Zhao Gang & Wu Si Qi: A calm and sweet duo whose chemistry created a soft romantic atmosphere. Their relationship development was simple but meaningful, with beautiful mutual understanding.

Lan Juan (Shi Lei’s mother): Her presence was warm and impactful. She understood her son’s emotions deeply, and her scenes added emotional depth to the story, especially in how she encouraged him to face his feelings.

Yi Zi Tong (E-Stone): His performance was powerful. At first, his actions made me dislike him — which means his acting was convincing. While he ultimately helped the hero confront his fears, I personally didn’t like how easily the harm he caused was overlooked. It didn’t feel realistic to forgive so easily after causing that kind of pain.


The supporting characters each added their own flavor to the story, and most appearances felt purposeful, not just filler.

Regarding the main relationship between Jin Yu Zhen and Shi Lei: I loved how their bond grew. From initial hostility to mutual care, their feelings developed naturally. Each of them had a unique way of showing love and concern, which became clearer with every episode.

Overall, this drama is good in many aspects — well-paced, emotionally engaging, and nicely acted.
The only thing that truly bothered me was how the situation with Yi Zi Tong and Jin Yu Zhen was handled. It didn’t sit right with me how such deep pain was resolved so easily, as if nothing serious had happened.

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Watch for the Uniqueness of Omegaverse and the Fun & Meticulous Manipulation

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

Where do I begin with this first somewhat major production of omegaverse in an Asian BL drama? It is definitely interesting. Is this drama perfect? Hell No! Is it interesting? Definitely. I would recommend “ABO Desire” to you if you are interested in checking out these characters in the omegaverse and get to know the characteristics of Enigmas, Alphas, Omegas and Betas. However, if you are looking for a great BL drama, this is not it.


Plot + Pacing
It all starts with Hua Yong’s obsession with Sheng Shao You. You will be amazed at the lengths he went to in order to make Shao You fall in love and be obsessed with him. Hua Yong’s manipulation is the best part of the drama. The meticulous planning of his scheme from years ago, his research of Shao You’s likes and dislikes in everything, to the ‘training’ he has to go through to turn himself to be one ‘worthy’ of Shao You. It was delicious just watching that all reveal. Of course, this wouldn’t be as good without Huang Xing’s acting. He’s the star of the show, because the rest of the actors aren’t that good. The pacing of the drama is uneven though. There are so many episodes where nothing really happened. The plot is not advancing and you are stuck in a loop of repeated manipulation. Then a couple episodes kicked in and more interesting storylines help move past the repetitiveness. I would have liked more on why Shen Wen Lang is at odds with his father, thus hating all Omegas. I also want a deeper dive into Shen Wen Lang and Hua Yong’s interesting friendship which involves some family backstories. But I think the most complaints from viewers will be coming from the last episode. There’s such great anticipation but all we got is a rushed and chopped up ending with multiple time jumps. The last episode tries to jam so many important events into one. I may not be a big fan of the novel ending of Gao Tu and Shen Wen Lang, but it can’t be this messed up storyline involving a father that should not appear on my screen. As viewers, we see how much Gao Tu went through in his life, we want to see him happy (with or without Shen Wen Lang). Is he living a happy life in the end? Maybe, but we wouldn’t know coz not much was shown. Oh, one more thing… the boring business and drug talk. So insignificant but took up so much of the dialog.

Acting
The acting is not good overall. Huang Xing is an interesting Hua Yong. He’s great, especially when you see him switch between good and evil and vice versa ( you also see his wardrobe change from white and black). The manipulation would not be so fun if not for some good acting. The next best actor is probably Li Pei En, who plays the beloved Gao Tu. He’s also the most experienced out of the four main actors, and has acted in bigger productions. It’s unfortunate the drama did not give him much to work with. Unfortunately, Qui Ding Jie’s acting isn’t that great as Sheng Shao You, and he’s not that much of a novice. He’s been in enough dramas that I wish he was better. Being the top S Alpha, he’s not charismatic enough. He’s been in many other mini dramas, I think I need to watch one of them to see if he’s better in it than this one. For a first acting assignment, the inexperience really shows for Jiang Heng. He is really not good at all. Luckily, he’s in such a popular drama that viewers probably won’t criticize him too much because we are all watching this for the omegaverse. If Jiang Heng’s performance is in another production, he will not be getting cheers in concerts. The rest of the supporting cast is average but a few of the very minor roles are pretty bad.

Romance
Yes, a lot more screen time is dedicated to Hua Yong and Shao Yao. I have no problem with that since they are the main leads. I do understand viewers wanting to see more of Gao Tu and Shen Wen Lang, because their romance could be very interesting. Besides, Gao Tu is so beloved, we want to see Wen Lang suffer and pine for him and then they all have a big happy ending. Did we really get that? Well, I won’t spoil it for you. But romance is strong in this drama. If you are a romance lover, this is for you. We have a toxic and manipulative main romance that you wonder why you are rooting for them. When Hua Yong and Shao Yao got all lovey-dovey, I felt rather weird after following their journey. I can’t deny I might have had a little smile on my face in the last few episodes, but it's still weird. And you know what, the kisses could have been better. They are too mild. On the other hand, we have a 10-year unrequited love from Gao Tu. There were so many times I was screaming (internally) that he should quit his job and leave Wen Lang. I want that knucklehead Wen Lang to suffer and then chase after Gao Tu in the middle of the drama. Did I get what I wanted? Maybe, and maybe not.

Production
When this drama is so popular and everyone is talking about it, I almost forgot this is a low budget production. I want to be lenient but I can’t deny there are many things that bug me. I hate the makeup, especially for Qiu Ding Jie/Sheng Shao You. He’s so pale and girly that I can’t see him as a bossy S Alpha. The dubbing also bugs me and makes the acting even worse. I think the actors use their own voices (and I like that) but oftentimes they are out of sync with their lips, or they are not annunciating their words clearly. There have been complaints about the lighting of the drama. You know, the scenes when the consummation happened and they claimed they couldn’t see the faces when the room was so bright? That was quite laughable. But the cherry on the top (as in the worst) is the sudden voice of a narrator out of the blue, and the narration from these bystanders telling me what is happening. The drama fails to show us what is actually going on and has to rely on others (not the main characters) to tell us. To end on a positive note, I do love the songs in this drama. The main theme song is catchy whether it’s the group version or the female version. It fits the mysteriousness of the omegaverse.


Do I recommend “ABO Desire”? Maybe if you are interested in the subject matter and want to see what the hype is about. But I won’t recommend it if you are looking for a high quality drama (BL or not). This is one of the very few dramas I watch while it’s airing and I had a good time watching it. The drama might not be great objectively, but the entertainment value is high for me. Despite complaining about every single category I listed about, I don’t think I can rate this too low. Not quite hit the 8.0 category because of some objective misses, but fun enough to warrant a 7.75. At least I enjoy this more than “Revenged Love”.




Completed: 10/11/2025 Review #632

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Potential alone isn't enough

Having read many reviews before, I knew what to expect, hence there is no disappointment that made me lower my rating. This series was what it was: mediocre. A nice watch if you knew what you were getting yourself into, but not outstanding in either way.

I binged this for all the wrong reasons. I wouldn't say this series wasted its potential, but it never even tried reaching it. The acting was good, especially those glances between both mains that could carry a whole conversation without any spoken word. But it just wasn't enough when it came to the deeper aspects of the story - the part that actually had me hooked.
People complained about there being too much trauma, but I would have loved to see an actual plot with character development, overcoming past bad experiences and growing together as a couple. Just that this wasn't the case here.

Out of 10 episodes, 3 were what I'd call fillers entirely. While I don't mind episodes where nothing grave is happening, I feel it didn't help the storytelling to have that many, especially not with where they were placed. The rest could've had actual meaning to it if the resolution of the conflicts didn't always go conveniently smooth to a point where it was clearly unrealistic. Even all the trauma ended up being overcome in the course of an episode. All that buildup for nothing.

All side characters were plot devices entirely, they were either the bad guys creating plot events, ambiguous characters with few minutes screentime whose only purpose was to create angst when required or the nice and supportive ones that were all happy and understanding and did nothing but laugh and smile and create ten layers of fluff. It got dull after a while.

So if you want all happy and fluff, you'll hate certain parts of it, while if you're looking for actual issues to be overcome instead of the usual three apocalyptic horsemen of BL dramas, you will find the execution of that to be lacking.

Watching felt like eating an amazing chocolate cake, only that I would never get to finish the slice before it got taken away. I don't care if you give me chocolate or red velvet cake, I'm fine with either, but let me finish my damn slice. I'm tired of series trying to appeal to every taste and thus leaving them all dissatisifed.

One last thing on the uncut version: The "fanservice" scenes were mostly cringe in my eyes and didn't add anything to the story, hence you can save yourself from having to rinse your eyes and just watch the normal version.

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Pretty little dessert, but not a real meal

The acting is great and the rough outline of the story is good, but it does fall into the melodrama trap of not really developing the relationships. They all just serve to create dramatic "shocking" moments. The romantic couple had great on screen chemistry, but I didn't actually buy their relationship or want them together because we never saw them actually build a relationship.

This wouldn't necessarily be a huge issue if the focus of the story was actually on the investigation/revenge angle that was initially set up, but unfortunately, that element falls into the background most of the time. The bulk of the show is our FL being periodically sabotaged or bullied in this fancy house while all she wants to do is earnestly make sweets. It was compelling enough in the moment since the acting is so good, and I like hearing about traditional sweets, but it doesn't actually have much substance or momentum.

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A Must Watch of 2025! Checks off everything I would want in a modern C-drama

I started Love's Ambition with not much expectations, the more I continued watching it the more love I have for this drama. Every single arc, plot, story, character, styling, detail, and even the songs was done with PURPOSE.

It seems the drama split into different arcs:
First arc focuses on Xu Yan, our main female lead played by Zhao Lu Si. She is a complicated female character, I think many people would definitely misunderstand her behavior. We need to keep in mind that in her perspective, she grew up without feeling geniune love and care from her own parents. She is definitely not a gold digger, she's more of a ....love digger. LOL Jokes aside, she yearns for love, and she thought she found that in her spouse. They seemed perfect for each other in the beginning, but of course it's all a ruse. Needless to say, it took heartbreak just to repair the relationship the two leads had. Xu Yan does not give in that easily, she has proven over and over that she can move on with own capabilities. I really enjoyed watching a strong, independent woman create a path for themselves especially after a marriage. Xu Yan taught me that if one door closes, another will always open. You just need to think outside of the box. It's also okay to not forgive your parents, it's okay to go no-contact with people who did you wrong, etc. Zhao Lu Si did a phenomenal job portraying Xu Yan, she really embodies her character quite well.

The second arc focused on Shen Hao Ming (William Chan), Hao Ming felt like a background character in the first 10 episodes or so. As I said in the comments, he felt like an accessory to Xu Yan. When the truth came, his motives were also exposed. Long story short, he also put on a play for Xu Yan. But there's a saying "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." and that is exactly what happened with Shen Hao Ming. It took him a very long, long time to figure out where his heart lies. Initially he didn't realize he was in love with his "ex-wife", and he used a ton of excuses to try and keep her by his side. It was disgusting; I absolutely hated whenever he uses money to bribe people especially Xu Yan. Xu Yan has told him multiple times she don't need his money, she doesn't care - all she cared about was him. He has said multiple times that it was his arrogance, his pride, and selfishness that caused a rift between the two and FFS HE WOULDN'T SAY IT XU YAN UNTIL THE LAST COUPLE OF EPISODES. Anyhow, I did like his growth, his realization of what kind of person he was and he changed for the better all because he wants his wife back. :) The second arc is basically the rom-com section of the drama, I laughed so hard!! I was having such bad days during this period and Love's Ambition really helped me through with the comedic scenes. LOL
I started to like Hao Ming again as a character when he finally accepts and respects Xu Yan's boundaries. He eventually learned to help in way that she is able to accept not through money, but through supporting her.
William also did a great playing a enigmatic character, arrogant, and/or silly hopeless-in-love character throughout the drama.
The final arc focuses on Shen Hao Ming's family scandal and business, etc. It's interesting because the first arc focuses so much on Xu Yan, her family, and her hardships and now we see Shen Hao Ming's family struggles. It's the details that just perfect.


The side characters were interesting to say the least. I think Qiao Lin is a wonderful sister, despite some people thinking otherwise. Unfortuantely, she did not know what Xu Yan has gone through growing up because Xu Yan was always seen as an obedient, quiet daughter. Meanwhile, Qiao Lin treated Xu Yan as a typical little sister, and had always protected her in ways she could. Xu Yan never voiced out loud the neglect and favoritsm their parents had made. That is why we see Xu Yan easily accepts Qiao Lin back into her life, and not their parents.
There were definitely some psychotic characters that made my blood boil especially in THE FINAL 3 EPISODES FFS!

There's a lot I want to say about this drama, but this review is already too long. I loved the details, PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS! The OST is PERFECT! I also felt like this drama was very realistic especially when they're talking about business. I usually don't pay attention nor enjoy business or corporate dramas, but I was watching every minute of it in Love's Ambition. Then again it was about fashion, and I love fashion especially anything related to traditional clothes. I loved every song that came on! More love for one of my favorite singers, Eric Chou! <3 Whoever was in charge of the OSTs, may your pillow always be cold. Thank you!

Happy ending? YES!
Would I recommend it? Definitely if you love romance, angst, comedy, drama - it literally felt like they used every single genre possible for a modern drama. It was totally unexpected, but I loved every minute of it.

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HUA YONG'S OBSESSION CUM LOVE

It’s the first live-action Chinese drama to fully embrace the Omegaverse concept: Alphas, Betas, Omegas, and a rare subtype called Enigma. The plot centers on Sheng Shaoyou, an S-Class Alpha CEO, and Hua Yong, who outwardly appears as an Omega but hides that he’s actually an Enigma. There’s also a second romance subplot: Gao Tu, who has to conceal his true status, and Shen Wenlang, his long-time boss, adding depth to the story.
LIKES--------------
☑️Bold, fresh concept
Many viewers praise how the drama goes all in with world-building: the gender hierarchy, biological implications, male pregnancy (mpreg), heat/rut cycles etc.
☑️Strong emotional stakes & tension
The push-and-pull dynamics between MLs (Shaoyou & Hua Yong) are seen as engaging. The secrecy, the manipulation, the emotional cost — these are what many say makes the drama gripping.
☑️Risk-taking
For a mainstream BL series in China, this is pretty daring: not only because of the mpreg aspect but also because it doesn’t shy away from darker, morally grey characters and ambiguous power dynamics.
DISLIKES-------------
☑️Uneven pacing
Many scenes in ABO Desire feel disjointed or abruptly cut, especially in the early and middle episodes. The transitions between key emotional or action moments can be too sudden — you’ll often go from an intense confrontation to a quiet emotional scene without enough buildup or cooldown.
☑️Characters / acting issues
The acting is uneven, especially when delivering emotional lines — sometimes stiff or robotic.
☑️Missing or shortened scenes
Due to censorship or post-production trimming, several sequences reportedly got shortened or rearranged. Emotional payoffs, like confrontations or reconciliations, sometimes feel unfinished
If you: Like dramas that push boundaries and explore dark/emotional themes
Enjoy intricate relationships with tension, secrets, manipulation, taboo elements
Don’t mind morally grey MLs/FLs or problematic situations as part of the tension
Then ABO Desire is very satisfying.
But if you: Prefer BL stories with clear consent and less emotional/psychological manipulation
Get uncomfortable with power imbalance or darker content
Want more consistent character empathy or smoother pacing
You might find parts of the drama frustrating.
ALL IN ALL, I’D SAY IT’S WORTH GIVING A TRY.

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A try at adult love

I enjoyed that the series bought out the shyness and insecurities related to first time dating and how it's nothing different as to young love experiences. Another lovely aspect of the plot was the coming out where the ML does not shy away but rather is eventually bold of his true self (seems love really does make you brave). The show is really special in highlighting that no matter how different the people in a relationship are, but the struggles are almost identical. The end is also satisfactory but i felt that after EP 10 the plot kind of slows down. It's absolutely recommended for people who are newcomers in the Y universe.

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