Professional Single (2020)

Professional Single is the first C-Drama that I have watched and I must say that it was quite good. It had a few pacing issues regarding the plot. A few things could've been shorter such as the secondary plots as well as sealing the actual deal between Yuan Qian and Qin Shen quicker, which would've allowed more room to explore the parents of both characters disagreeing with their children on their choices. but this is a small piece of criticism that doesn’t take away from the overall show. Quin Shen and Yuan Qian are strong leads and have a strong bonding relationship throughout. You truly feel that they care for each other despite their stubbornness in admitting it. In fact, both being so stubborn actually reinforces that. Quin Shen is quite cold, but when it comes to Yuan Qian, his smile and eyes light up with emotion. He knows how to be humorous as well instead of just being a land cold character. Even when he’s being serious during a comedic situation. Yuan Qian is a positive influence on him, ringing him out of that shell and completing him as a character. Seeing how their relationship blossoms from an initial indifference to each other to a sweet, loing relationship was an engaging experience. Ling Wei was a character that got annoying at times due to her persistence but she was a fine character, still. And given the age of the characters, you can sorta understand the mentality of someone that age - . the unrelenting pursuit of someone who clearly doesn’t want to know. Song Si Yi was less possessive and actually had a sweet relationship with Yuan Qian himself. He was smart, kind and talented. A good second male lead. The supporting cast was all good whether it was supporting the main characters or shining during their own comedic scenes. Chen Qi Nan and Xin Xin left strong impressions on me, most definitely.

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ALL CASTS TOOK MY HEART.

At first i did not really liked FL but after some episodes i literally started liking her.. i liked her but she is so thin and short. her acting and cuteness took my heart. ML has a cold side but its just his nature and its sweetly bearable. i loved FL and ML friends, there casting and bonding literally took my heart. every cast was perfect.. Ling wei did a great job in her acting too. some scenes were literally heart touching and omo all the jealousy scenes were a blast. loved it. This drama is worth watching and i am already missing this drama. it was such a lovely drama. ♡♡ must watch . hope you'll watch this drama else will regret.

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Such an awesome series ??

I don't justify anything in this web series.. because I just loved it, there is nothing to point out in this story, but ending might be incomplete.. so that we can expect season 2.. we want to know how their parents reacted to their relationship, and to their graduation of sculpture like that.. all were acted well..

moreover it was a wonderful series as we are not experienced that type of education in our country.. we don't have that much of skilling courses in our colleges, Universities. We are living in a full restricted hostels, colleges and schools. We don't have that pleasent atmosphere here, we don't have that much of freedom from parents and schools.. all are narrow minded peoples and narrow minded authorities.. after seeing this series I felt in love with china💚.. after seeing the relationship of these guys, awaiting for a right partner in life.. so many people thought to go china for higher studies to fulfill their dreams❤️.. this is proper type of education to shape our minds in which we have passion.. I wish I were there, but my graduation also completed in 2020..

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Entertain

I love this drama.
Feels refreshing and very entertaining although there are a few minus point but over all its quite good.
Female lead is cute. Male lead ( like always ) is handsome.
One thing that bothers me, I just don't get when the ML fall in love with the FL....
The other cast ( their friends ) are funny.... I laugh very hard when their friends rap at the train station.....
I love the friendship
Plus the antagonists do not make me tired watching their evil scheme...
Also I learn about making the sculpture.... the mud....

And I like the song.... it's so good!!!

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What started out as sweet, cute ended up being slightly disturbing

This drama has no major angst. It's a relatively light, feel-good romantic drama. It is nothing new or different from a typical college romance.
The reason I watched this drama is because I loved Song Yiren in 'The best of you in my mind'.
Okay, so there's a taciturn, serious guy who is passionate about sculpting. He is attracted to his classmate who wants to change to oil painting. The budding romance is sweet and interesting. The female lead is not the typical doe-eyed left-footed clutz who is always in a daze. She's quite independent and cheerful. Despite being tiny, she's quite cute.
The main antagonist is the ML's stalkerish sort-of ex but not really ex (because they never dated) girl schoolmate. The drama becomes slightly disturbing because:
1. After they get together, the ML is very dominating. He orders around the FL : everything is brushed over as his 'concern'
2. He is insanely jealous. Not in an endearing way, but borderline possessive and controlling. Yeesh.
3. The first kiss-- I've read comments about people swooning. Frankly, it looks like assault-- he literally grabs her jaws, turns her face and kisses her forcefully. Dude.
4. He makes a motel guy lie about the number of rooms available, manipulates the situation to share a room with the FL, literally pounces on her that night. Yeesh dude. She's willing. Ask and ye shall get laid.
5. The ML pouts all the time. Communication between the leads is poor. They sort of take revenge on eachother for every small slight and misunderstanding.

Overall, the drama started out to be a cute, sweet quite run-of-the-mill, predictable college romance. But it quickly mutated to being boring, slightly disturbing and bland. I had to force myself to finish watching it.
I like the leads. I'd love to see the ML in a better role in a better drama. Watch it if you want.

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Cookie cutter college rom-com that set a low bar

I think your mileage with this drama will depend a great deal on how high a bar you set. I can understand that a college romance drama is unlikely to push many boundaries but sometimes you need more than just having the OTP being good looking to get a pass mark.
If there is a god for this genre then she must be smiling upon them as this show was so heavy with tropes and clichés that it will be a chore to keep score. Yes, both ML and FL were right for their roles and they looked good but they were not asked to do much. The cold, aloof ML persona was on full display from start to near finish. There was a bit of softening up by the end but there was not a lot of character development (except for some negative aspect which I shall discuss later). The cutesy, clumsy FL was also straight out of the genre's playbook. It was honestly a bit overused as time and time again, the FL managed to trip, slip, fall, etc onto the ML's chest, his arms or just ended up in the classic dip pose. If all that egregious set up didn't scream OTP I don't know what will. The odd thing for me was that if I look beyond the tells and manipulations, I'm not 100% sure why the ML fell for the FL. There was chemistry and sweet moments but was it as simple as the knight and the damsel?
This bring on the topic of the 2FL and 2ML. I have to say that I really feel bad for them, not that they did a bad job but their roles were just so meh. The 2FL was literally being rejected on a daily basis by the ML (not sure why he disliked her so much) yet she just kept coming back for more. The 2ML didn't stand much of a chance with the FL but at least the FL was a bit ambiguous about their relationship for a while (they even played the fate card) but in the end, they were just pitiful. It is nice to play good and even good to be bad but the no-man's land in the middle is death for an actor.
The rest of the story was cliché filled with little dramatic development. There were hints of family dramas but barely explored. Just a couple of phone calls and vague comments about disapprovals or "family troubles". The ML's grandmother would have been a lovely diversion but she only popped up once or twice and had little to do. What was left were typical petty college shenanigans built upon the venerable tropes of rivalries, bullying and jealousy but they had little dramatic impact. Wrongs were righted before the episode was over and the angst meter barely moved. I suppose it is better than having the ill feelings and misunderstanding fester for multiple episodes as per the standard trope. The problem here was that you just don't feel invested. A lot were caused by lies told constantly by OTP to cover their budding/secret relationship. It just got a bit old.
The support cast was standard fare. The FL's roommates was the classic set, one tough girl, one shy one and the chubby BFF. The ML's roommates were straight out of central casting and forgettable. The more mature cast members had very little to do. Their professor was meant to be their guiding light and he was a nice man but I can't sense the burning passion when his role demanded it.
Now for the things that really bothered me. For the first half of the show, the ML was nice and sweet while chasing the FL. Sure, the cold exterior melted over time and when he smiles, the sun did shine brighter. However, once they became a couple, he became possessive and was a green-eyed monster. That type of behaviour is not new to dramaland but it felt jarring with his earlier persona. Coupled this with his manhandling of the FL, made me felt uncomfortable with their relationship. Hence, the real elephant in the room, the FL (Ireine Song) is a popular actor and she knows her craft but I fear that she is being type casted whenever she pops up in this type of drama. I'm sure she could have sleep walked through this drama. Often it is just a variation of the archetype. Dial up the cuteness, tone down the street smart or be more clumsy. She is almost always paired with a tall ML. In this case, she is barely up to his shoulder (and half his width). Some finds this pairing attractive but when it was played out more like a dominant (D/S) relationship then I feel the positive note is muted. I sincerely hope that she will find projects in the future that will allow her to break out of these roles.
Ultimately, is this a bad show, not quite. It was a mostly harmless (once only) binge but that was a low bar to pass.

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How each stand for another like u have my back

Simple story with big message to any society. How one stand for each other. Like when the male actor stood for the female inspite of rumours that she is with the sports guy. How frds support and how students support their department and Prof its gives a big message
Read reviews like story was preditable just wish to ask those intelectual people that how u derive to that conclusion when one character is childhood frd and famous at same time and totally falling for the female character how u derive to that .... Anyways ......
Although this was one of the initial role of Mr. Deng would like to appreciate his work with Ms. Song who is having good exp in the industry. Yes this drama is not like any other drama not having baseless fiction or facts. Reality is potrated which is ok
Mr. Deng is skilled and will proof himself with his work
Professional Single grew the interest to watch Chinese drama

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A funny and cute romance with disturbing behaviors from secondary characters.

2020 has been a good year in terms of cute and nice drama.
This one is funny, cute with a cool storyline, although it's not perfect but we don't ask too much of a college drama.

[No spoilers here]

The two leads have personality and are endearing.
The male lead seemed to me at first the type of cold, perfect and domineering guy that we too often see. However, he is not. Yes he can be cold, he is talented and has a strong personality which makes him domineering at times. But he's not only that. He's cute, funny, loving, teasing, responsible, and flawed. He makes mistakes and the show points it out by making him apologize or struggle.
The female lead is an adorable little creature. She is optimistic, cheerful, kind, loyal and reckless. But she's also very clumsy and unlucky, all that more accentuated for the sake of comedy.


Romance is very cute and takes its time.
When the story begins, the characters are already classmates but the events of the first episode will cause them to pay attention to each other. I find it interesting to see a male lead realize his feelings first and admire the FL for his personality. This makes the dynamic more interesting and captivating than love at first sight or a girl chasing a boy too blind to realize her potential.
Even if the protagonists take a long time to start dating, their alchemy, attraction, feelings and closeness begin from the start. It was funny and moving to see them bicker, get to know each other, try to understand their feelings and what the other is thinking and so on.


Friendship is also a big plus in the story.
Their group of friends were interesting and funny. This created several interesting and hilarious scenes. I get bored sometimes in front of the dormitory scenes but I admit that during this drama, I didn't skip any of that.
It should also be noted that this is a drama without parental presence (5min of screen throughout the drama) which leaves more time to focus on the students rather than adding more intrigue or drama.


Obviously, like a lot of drama, there are a few flaws.
I would say that the biggest flaw, and what exasperated me the most, is the attitude of the 2 supporting roles which serve as love rivals to the protagonists. The secondary characters are not vicious, but they are toxic by their harassing and obsessive behavior, emotional manipulation, and disrespect for the words, opinions and feelings of the loved one.
However, I would point out that this does not spoil the drama at all and that this kind of attitude is not "rewarded" (they don't get what they want) even if a more severe criticism from the drama would have pleased me.

[Slighty spoilers from here]

The second male lead is the female lead's childhood friend (whom she hasn't seen in years). He becomes obsessive as soon as he meets her and it's problematic because he doesn't just act as a friend but flirts with her and sometimes even behaves like a boyfriend.

The second female lead is a former classmate of the ML. She too has become obsessive, harassing and stalking the male lead whom nevertheless makes it clear that he does not like her, even that he hates her. This character is depressive, annoying and pathetic.


The lead's attitude towards these characters is in my opinion more normal, healthy and interesting (although I have seen people criticize him).
Given the attitude of the SML and the fact that the female lead is unable to really put boundaries between them, I understand that he wants her far away from a man openly in love with her who doesn't take "no" for an answer.
Male lead has a problematic attitude sometimes, it's true. But it's normal not to want your girlfriend being so close to another man, especially one who hasn't stopped showing his love for her and had an inappropriate attitude.


Conclusion:
This is a good drama about first love in college. The two protagonists are endearing, funny and interesting to follow. Their circle of friends is also worth watching. It's fun: there is humor, love, friendship, art. And there's bad: The 2 supporting roles show disturbing behavior. And the script should definitely shows the FL criticizes this kind of attitude rather than letting her encourage or condone it. But that doesn't spoil the experience.

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Loved every single episode!

I loved this series. The acting was so good and there weren't any jarring missteps that take you out of the story to wonder what the director was thinking. That's a big deal for me as I watch for my own entertainment. I have put it on my top ten list and know that I will watch it again.

The main female lead is very, very short. It even appears more so when the main male lead is so tall. It really didn't appear to hamper their romance. There were no irritating "misunderstandings" that I see so much of in other shows but there was still plenty of issues to keep it interesting.

I'm middle aged and didn't expect to like this series as much as I did. I highly recommend it!

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Best Drama I've ever seen ! Caution-" Toooo Addictive"

Starting, the story turns out to be too sweet! Generally, the male lead is grumpy while the female lead is extrovert and cheerful yet both end up like opposite charges attract each other, this story revolves around college life and perfectly showcases happy batchmates and the strength of unity. The director has made sure to add little elements of joy, care, and love in each sequence.
If you are into themes such as romance, jealously, unrequited love, unity, true love, college life, art and sculpture, understanding, first love...u are choosing a great delight for yourself.
The bond between the leads seems unique as it forces them to rediscover themselves and change for their better. The storyline is fresh yet a bit typical when it comes to college life love, yet it's a great piece of delight.

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Cute but goes downhill...

Okay so first,
I love watching cdrama having the concept of university-related. So that's why I wanted to watch this series.
It also helps my Chinese better.
I love the character development especially when you see them getting to like each other.
My favourite part of the whole drama is the roommates friendship, reminds me of my friends and I got emotional when they were always there for. Yuan qian.
The music is very calming and fits the concept of the drama.
Okay now about the cons...
This drama is practically similar to all Chinese dramas... A cold-hearted talented man and a bubbly cute short girl. Its getting a bit boring for me tbh but I'm fine with it since I like kind of like dramas like this. BUT compared to other dramas, at least their bond and character development get stronger.
Okay straight to the point what I'm trying to say is...
Their relationship is toxic as soon as they for together.
Okay LIFE LESSON: If a man forces himself on you that is considered harassment/ sexual assault. It's not cute and not on.
When I saw the kiss, at first I'm like is this supposed to be cute? Cause it just looked... Wrong in all ways.
Okay, the female protagonist is cute but the male protagonist...
Don't get me wrong!! I love Aaron Deng, watched him on idol producer. Though his character is just no... At first, I liked his character because you can see him slowly grow interested in yuan qian. But as soon as he gets together with yuan qian... Oh boy! He practically controls her! When she asked for his permission I was like something not right. As well he keeps forcing her to PDA even when she tells him to keep it private. I get he was confused but he should be understanding and respect her decisions.
He literally makes yuan qian AVOID her childhood best friend just because of his own selfish reasons if he owns her. He's like No touching, no hugging, no talking, no nothing because her childhood friend is a BOY. He always invades her personal space, like when she was calling song siyi with earphones, she signaled him 'no' because she was talking to siyi privately but he just took the earphone to hear their conversation.
Like that's not cool, it's NOT cute just creeper as hell.
As well when he told the hotel service person to tell yuan qian there was only one room left that's messed up ... Cause she seemed very uncomfortable that she kept persisting for a room for herself which is COMPLETELY FINE! But no, she was uncomfortable because things were gonna happen in that room and guess what IY HAPPENED, I bet she WASNT SURPRISED.
Qin shen acts very childish, very manipulating. Usually, its the girl that is mad at the guy but somehow every time yuan qian does something without his "CONSENT'' he would get pissed?
Okay, I recommend you watch ep 1-15 and TRY TO AVOID EVERYTHING AFTER THAT, it progressively gets worse. I feel so bad for yuan qian kinda wanna just help her.

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