Once We Get Married (2021)

One of the best Chinese Rom-Coms out there!

From beginning to end, this drama stays true to romance and cute comedic moments. Angst is kept at the minimum and is resolved quickly. Also, it focuses almost entirely on the MC without those annoying side romances that, in my opinion, distracts from the MC and makes me push the fast forward button. So, let’s get into the details.

ML – he’s the typical arrogant, unemotional CEO. His one goal is to further his business, which, when we meet him, is acquiring the Marry Me brand from Alex, an Italian-Chinese designer. He’s got the whole thing planned out, right down to the necklace that Alex’s dead wife designed to play on the guy’s heartstrings. FL, however, appears on the scene and turns his plan and life upside down. The skirmishes between these two, as they try to one up each other, are amusing, but eventually, their skirmishes become love and the contractual marriage becomes a real one. Exposed to the warmth of FL's personality, ML’s ice begins to melt and finally breaks, warming him up nicely. His personality makes the transformation from cold CEO to cute and loving husband – which so unlike a lot of Chinese tsunderes who never quite lose their frost. His personality seems to change with his hairstyle. At work or when he’s dressed for business, his hair’s neatly brushed back. At home or at play with FL, his hair is on his forehead, giving him a warmer, more youthful appearance. I would have preferred him to be ruder to Ran Xi Wei (the delusional love rival). Because of their past friendship, he allows her to get away with her scheming a little too easily. This woman needs to receive consequences for her actions not slaps on the hand. He could have done a better job of protecting XiXi from this woman if he’d dealt out some consequences instead of quietly cleaning up the messes this psycho chick created. Don’t get me wrong – he never showed Xi Wei any encouragement and he did tell her to stop her antics – but more should have been done to stop this vindictive lunatic.

FL – she’s independent and clever as well as warm and sweet, a very likeable character…although her cutesy behavior with ML once they’re ‘in love’ does get a little annoying. I’m not a fan of the breathless, pouty, baby talk stuff. Does love suddenly cause women to start cooing like babies? Maybe men find this cute; I don’t. Just act like you always did! That’s what he fell in love with! And here’s a blessed change in drama tropes - her dream didn’t involve travel or study abroad! Finally, a dream that can be accomplish in the same location as ML. Yeah, she leaves for a refresher course, but it’s still in the same country and it’s only three months. That’s a dream I can approve of.

Love rivals? Yea, we’ got two.

Our Male Love Rival – His name is Mo Zi Xin, and he’s an absolute dream! I struggled with SML syndrome pretty bad. How I wish these dramas made two versions – one where ML gets the girl and one where SML gets the girl. There’s really no reason for FL to choose ML over Mo Zixin other than she was forced to be in his proximity nonstop because of the marriage contract. Both men are rich, successful, handsome and wonderful. (Just an aside – all those cons that were in ML’s column won’t be so loveable after a few years of marriage so any woman watching this drama, please don’t choose a man with so many ‘cons’ and no ‘pros’ in real life!) Mo Zixin’s eager yet shy expressions whenever he looks at FL makes a viewer want to swoon. I loved their backstory, and I thought to myself: ‘Damn, if only she hadn’t left the invitation in the car!’ or ‘If only Mo hadn’t been away getting that paint when she needed money.’ So, I guess in the end it was all a matter of timing. My poor baby!

Our Female Love Rival (Ran Xi Wei) – this is one obsessed chick. ML, even in the beginning, never treated her as anything but a friend and useful tool, a.k.a. eye candy on his arm at social events. Had he never met FL, yeah, he might have eventually married her because she was there, and it was his duty to marry. He certainly wouldn’t have married her for love. I honestly don’t know what Xi Wei thought she’d accomplish by making XiXi’s business venture more difficult, a.k.a. stealing models, spreading rumors, exposing diary entries, etc. If anything, these actions only strengthened MC’s relationship. And honestly, the gossip of FL being a gold-digger is just ridiculous, scriptwriter! Are you telling me that the people whispering about her never had those same ideas? There’s nothing shameless about wanting to become rich. And we all know that it was ML that forced the marriage – although at the time, psycho chick didn’t know that. Everything about this character was annoying. She constantly looked like she’d just come out of a rain storm with that flyaway hairstyle and smudged eye makeup. Also, she was costumed in outfits that looked like they were made from the same material as my Grandmother’s couch. That green plaid sandwich bag dress that barely covered her butt was the worst of all. Still, without this vindictive harpy, MC wouldn’t have had any obstacles to outcome so I guess she served her purpose.

I applaud the scriptwriter for making ML’s mother into the kind of Chinese parent that I like. At first, she appeared to be the typical control freak mom that promised trouble for our couple, but she turned out to be a good judge of character. After some initial sternness, she readily accepted FL and pledged her support. Grandma (ML’s, not FL’s) was a sweetie as well! FL’s mom was nice but her father and grandma were grafters. Nevertheless, these are kind of Chinese parents/family that I like – they accept and approve of their child’s love interest. They add warmth and humor to the overall plot.

Another trope that this drama rejected was the dingbat bestie…at least as far as FL goes. Xiaoya was upbeat and lively without being a dingbat. They also didn’t involve her in a romance, which was a blessing. C-dramas get too bogged down with side romances that distract from the MC. That being said, there is a side romance between ML’s guy bestie, Shang Ke, and Ruona. Thankfully, the director/scriptwriter didn’t focus too much on them. Shang Ke was the one playing the role of dingbat bestie – his character was just downright stupid, and I have no idea why a smart woman like Ruona would fall for this guy. He was like a not overly bright child. Enough said about that couple.

Once again, this is one of the best Chinese Rom-Coms I’ve watched, and I highly recommend it to viewers who like romantic fun without a lot of teeth gnashing or brick throwing at the TV. The plot isn’t overly complicated or filled with angst. Most of the scenes just involved MC falling in love with each other. They have some obstacles to get over (mostly one caused by psycho chick’s scheming) but misunderstandings are cleared up quickly and they move on to sweet romance. I highly recommend this drama!

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Things are wrong from the start. A lot of details are beyond messed up.

(1) Bad taste in costume design despite the story being about fashion designer

The FL is a clothing designer, but every point about FL's costume in this series is absolutely tasteless. They shouldn't create an FL to be a designer if they don't have knowledge about this aspect at all.

In the first scene of the story, the FL observes the quality of a dress that forges a brand name by scrutinizing how cheap the quality and price the dress actually is. By the end of the same ep, she wears a dress to a luxurious party hosted by a renowned designer. Her dress is supposed to be the epitome of her own work, but what she wears is cheap from head to toe. Her hair ribbon is cheap. Her wavy hairstyle doesn't go along with the wavy necklace (which also looks fake and cheap). Her own dress is low quality without any trace of the design that can be praised. Her drop-dangle eaพrings pairing with her (limping) lacy dress and her wavy style make her look tangled and raveled. The costume team of this series just doesn't know what is good taste. It's very contradictory when the renowned designer genuinely admires the FL's style.

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(2) Improper (- some even get to the point of stupid) cause and effect of events scattering all over the place

Causes that affect events in this series irresponsibly come out of the blue - no root. no clue. at all. Like the writer is beyond lazy to place any solid background for the story and just finds the easiest way out to send the FL into the writer's designated events by throwing her into the situations like magic. Example:-

(2.1) The FL's close friend confidently tells the FL without any hesitation she will get the invitation to the high-class party hosted by the renowned designer for FL. This friend works as a 2nd-rated model but doesn't have proper knowledge about fashion design or the fashion circle. She doesn't have rich-family background. She doesn't have knowledge about the host apart from he is simply a renowned designer. She doesn't even know why he is famous (despite being a model - which totally deserves to be just a 2nd-rated). Where the hell is this confidence of hers to find the invitation to the party for her friend within the shortest time by the next day? As the connection of a no-name model can be that strong!?

(2.2) The FL drives a car in the rain and almost hits the 2nd ML who stands beside the pavement. He doesn't stand on her lanes, but he feels guilty as he thinks it's his fault standing there that causes the accident. What ridiculous is, despite being very good-natured the FL is, she accepts that it's kind of his fault. Excuse me?? It's you who are not skilled in driving!? Not to say that she bumps her car into a sidewalk tree. That tree is on the 2nd ML's side of the pavement. It's like when she sees him, she panics and dashes the car in his direction. My gosh, that can kill him considering her driving skills and the 2nd ML is still the one who says sorry while the FL accepting the apology.

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(3) Destructive details due to lack of knowledge and intelligence of the writer and production team

Example:-
- In an afternoon party of the high-class circle, when the FL says she majored in design, the others mention the top colleges in design as Columbia, Standford and UCLA. Hell to the writer and production team, you are unknowledgeable at all.

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(4) With the FL's dialogue, reaction and decision in each crucial event, it shows that she is pretty much stupid

Due to the intelligence level of the writer and production team, it can't help that finally it affects the FL character the most. This is a story told from FL's perspective, so the writer/production team's intelligence reflects her intelligence.

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Load of crap

I am so mad @ this series. I’m absolutely infuriated. To say some of the things that has happened before I dropped this crap, is a load of nonsense rubbish garbage is putting it mildly.
Firstly, This turned from a marriage contract to a slave contract.
First it was agreed that she would have her own private room but low and behold that didn’t happen, not only did she not get a room, she is get to choose between a closet or sofa. Two (2) very uncomfortable places to sleep while he gets to sleep on a big soft bed. And she’s mandated to read to him every night. I’m getting madder as I am typing this.
Secondly, they agreed not to meddle in each others lives but he has been meddling in hers constantly. A girl confessed to you that she likes you and said girl has had a run in with you “wife” in your presence and you know it wasn’t pleasant, then what do you proceed to do, you bring said girl to your home. He proceeds to command the wife in an authoritative master/servant relationship to go and get him water to drink and she obediently stands up to go do her master’s bidding but then gets stopped by the woman who was brought to the house, with the announcement that she’s in love with her husband. Said husband proceeds to get angry that the wife is not jealous.
Thirdly and the most infuriating of all. He literally tells her what to do. Come here, sit here, she literally obeys every command of his and walks meekly with him, she is sassy but her sassiness is fleeting, one minute you will think she’s about to stand up to him, next minute she’s apologizing and doing exactly what he wants. He literally threw her iPad in the water and destroyed the hard work she put in just because he was jealous, and surprise surprise she ended up apologizing to him in that scene. Gosh I am so mad. The scenes that broke the camels back for me was when he gave her the Italy materials to learn and was quizzing her on how to pronounce the words, he held a whip, granted he didn’t whip her but the fact that he held that whip was so wrong on all levels and I was not there for that at all, then after making the girl that confessed to him teach his wife etiquette lessons, she got bruises on her feet, then got sent home and told to write something 100times likes she’s a little kid.
None of what this guy did to this girl in this series is remotely acceptable IMO and I’m so disappointed that more people aren’t calling out this load of BS
But wait all this is all ok somehow because wait for it…. He’s falling in love with her hence all this emotional and implied physical abuse is cute.
I am so freaking mad with this BS. I can’t remember the last time I was this mad at anything much less a tv series.
I fucking dropped this piece of shitty crap @ ep10
1/10 because I can’t give it 0/10

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Short Simple Sweet

Contrary to everyone who writes and complains such a cliche etc - basically majority of the series available these days are similar to another even from long long ago and not just recent series, so quit the complaining and whining about the similarities - I find that this series is actually nice, short and simple with some sweet and comedy moments. The first series I watched with both the Male (Wang ZiQi) and Female (Wang Yu Wen) Lead together as the Lead couple was the series "The Love You Give Me" (2023). And even from that series, I find that the 2 of them actually make quite a cute adorable couple. Happy to know and found an earlier series where both of them are the lead couple again.

For this series, the synopsis actually caught my interest. Found a few short clips of it in YouTube and decided to give it a try. I have no regrets checking out the series. Although the storyline has been quite "simplified", it is still watchable and enjoyable - unless you have set your own personal movie bar too high - and I think if you are just watching for a simple romance story, it would fit for a first watch. I find the Female Lead character cute, silly at times and even slow in realizing things (like as if there is none of us who fits that description in reality) and the Male Lead strong, no nonsense, and don't believe in anything "mushy", likely thanks to the upbringing of the mother from childhood. It is great to see how the Female Lead character brings back the meaning of life into that cold CEO ;)

The songs are alright, I love the song 因为相爱 by 都智文 the most. All in all, overall all the casts did a good job in bringing the series to life.

If you like the synopsis, watch it. If you like the series after watching, then rewatch. Reviews are nothing but personal opinions of various different individuals that might not even suit your own taste.

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amazing show

this drama is very light and interesting
really got my feelings up and down
watched this after their 2023 drama the love you give me and gotta say their chemistry is just amazing
male lead is cute and really manage to carry the character similar to the fl.
i just hope they have their 4th collab soon!

the ost is also really nice.

the dresses in the drama just one word for it “wow”.

i completed this drama in 3 days ? imagine how addictive it is. seriously a very light and easy drama to watch. singles please be ready to feel more single ?

give it a try really worth your time

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My experience after watching this ?

" Once we get married" - this is the best drama I've ever seen in my life . This drama perfectly portrayed what love is . ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️I really love it . People must watch this .?❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Please no!

Oh my life where do I start! Another marriage contract romcom - why?!! This is the equivalent of a Mills and Boon romance novel. Full of the usual tropes and then some! Falling, accidentally lip meeting, drunk FL, 2 ML who fell in love as a child with her and been looking for her ever since, the list is endless! Plus the overbearing ML who manipulates, bullies and constantly grabs and physically looms over the FL. Rampant sexism.
When are the chinese writers ever going to make something original and representative of life in the 21st century.
This is not original, funny or interesting- the actors and actresses deserve a better stroryline as they are natural and good at their craft.

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A me i clichè piacciono

Sono una di quelle persone a cui i clichè piacciono molto e li difendo, ma il tutto deve essere ben costruito e ben recitato altrimenti STOP! Questo drama ci è riuscito nella maggior parte. La coppia principale per me è da 10, la seconda da poco più che sufficiente; diciamo pure che non mi ha entusiasmata, ma la prima ha tutto il mio cuore. Adoro quando gli attori sono talmente bravi da farmi provare le loro stesse emozioni, adoro quando sono in imbarazzo per loro e stoppo la visione perchè ho "paura" per la reazione dell'altro o perchè mi vergogno di quello che fanno XD
Ogni tanto mi piace immergermi in questi drama non originali, ma che mi fanno provare emozioni!

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Amei!!! Um dos melhores dramas de contrato de casamento

Drama limpo demais, não possui muita enrolação e tem muito foco no casal principal (wo xihuan *-*), as vezes tem drama que se torna ruim por muita história fora da principal, aqui isso não acontece. O drama até me fez querer persuadir acionistas da empresa da história, coisa que normalmente eu fujo, quando entram na parte burocrática das empresas nos dramas se torna um tanto chato - mas aqui não *-*. Super gostoso de acompanhar o crescimento do amor deles e em momentos do drama dá para acreditar que poderia ser uma história real O_O, pq n pode? Eu assistirei novamente com certeza, fluiu que nem água os 24 episódios, só não terminei antes porque a vida real me chama rsrs. Recomendo. Se tornou um dos melhores dramas de contrato de casamento que já assisti!!! ?

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Gu Xi Xi é uma compradora de moda, que dirige uma pequena loja online em casa e compra vestidos de noiva de alta costura de Alex para seus clientes. Durante uma recepção privada, ela conhece Yin Si Chen, um CEO que veio discutir cooperação comercial com Alex. Ocorre um incidente que os leva a manter temporariamente um contrato de casamento cooperativo para uma situação ganha-ganha referente a Alex.

Esse não é um dos dramas mais interessantes dentro do aspecto contrato de casamento, mas as personalidades opostas dos personagens dão um constraste interessante à trama. Gostei muito da Xi Xi, principalmente em meio a uma vida familiar bem ruim, onde é sugada a cada momento pelo pai e pela avó, ainda assim, consegue se desenvolver e não desistir dos seus sonhos. Sou muito fascinada por pessoar trabalhadoras, e do começo ao final a personagem corre atrás daquilo que tanto quer conquistar, sem deixar ser apagada pelo marido rico.

Já Si Chen como CEO, nesse sentido, é bem caricato, mas fica com por conta de sua personalidade séria o lado mais cômico do enredo. Vamos vendo que com a ajuda do seu relacionamento com a Xi Xi vai se desvencilhando do seu jeito turrão. Gostei muito do ator Wang Zi Qi dando vida a esse personagem!

Temos também triângulo amoroso que de forma alguma foi chato. Muito pelo contrário, me arrancou várias gargalhadas porque Si Chen é um cadelinho de primeira com a Xi Xi, e não deu para o Zi Xin ter vez nessa. Além disso, há um relacionamento com diferença de idade entre Rou Na e Shang Ke, que encheu meus olhos, visto que o amigo do protagonista era um riquinho mimado que se apaixona.

Adaptado de um webtoon chamado “Contract Wife Runs Away from the CEO” por Nian Hua Fu Liu. Adorei o drama e ganhou 4,5 ⭐ comigo!

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