As Beautiful as You (2024)

Beyond expectations!

What a heartwarming love story! I had this show in my watchlist for a long time, but I don’t know why, I never wanted to actually start it, I like both Tan Song Yun and Xu Kai, but I somehow didn’t quite like the idea of them being cast opposite each other. Now that I have finally finished this show, I can say that I stand corrected! Not only did hey look good together, they had a lovely chemistry and the romance didn’t disappoint at all. The beginning few episodes were not interesting enough, but the drama soon gained my interest. Tan Song Yun has had great chemistry with all actors she’s worked opposite, which shows her excellent acting skills. Xu Kai, on the other hand, has grown a lot as an actor since his older shows. He is an awesome eye candy, but he was more of that than ac actor before. I liked his acting a lot in Wonderland of Love, and he seemed to show emotions on his otherwise passive face in that drama. Likewise, here as well, he acted well and his growth as an actor was visible. Perhaps, the FL he’s cast opposite also has a part in bringing out his emotions well on screen. In both As beautiful as you and Wonderland of Love, he was cast opposite older FLs who acted very well, this might have had a positive effect on his acting skills as well. I loved him in Arsenal Military Academy as well, there again he was cast opposite Bai Lu whose acting skills don’t require an attestation by me. Overall, it was a beautiful and warm show with a lovely ending. The epilogue was excellent too, but the producers had to have one of them pass away, which I thought was unnecessary. We all know the reality of life, and we know people cannot live and die together, but we don’t need fictional characters to separate, since seeing them together forever is heartening for us viewers, making us believe in beautiful endings and happily everafters.

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This Is Not Just An Office Romance

I never imagined that Xu Kai and Tan Song Yun would be in the same drama. But here we are.

Since the drama's poster was released, I had high hopes. Of course, because I trust in the acting quality of both of them.

When I saw the poster, I thought this drama would be a romantic comedy, like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim. I assumed it would be just another office drama, full of cliché scenes between a boss and the employees. But I was completely wrong. This drama is truly different from what I had imagined.

For a drama, it’s quite detailed in discussing business and AI. In my opinion, if you're not interested in one of those topics, this drama may be hard to accept. The portion dedicated to business and AI takes up much of the duration, compared to the romance. However, since I’m interested in both, I can say that this drama is very informative.

As someone living in a Southeast Asian country, I would even add another genre, which is Sci-fi. The AI they created in the drama is so detailed and amazing that it feels like a fantasy. I can’t imagine something like that existing in my own country. China has truly advanced. At times, it felt like I was in a different time altogether.

Back to the drama, its pacing is quite slow. Especially in the first 15 episodes, there are many back-and-forth moments that can be frustrating. However, by episode 20, I couldn’t stop watching. Every episode sparked new curiosity. Many interesting characters in this drama are portrayed as antagonists. However, among all the antagonists, I dislike Wei Qiu Zi and Shao Yi Chen more than Zeng Di and Chang He.

The two main antagonists (Zeng Di and Chang He) have clear reasons for doing what they do. Neither of them asks to be seen as good people. But as for Wei Qiu Zi and Shao Yi Chen, they’re just two cowards, sticking together because they feel they can rely on each other. Shao Yi Chen is the most cowardly character I’ve ever seen in a Chinese drama. He refuses to move forward, always behind Ji Xing, who is constantly pushing ahead. Yi Chen only wants to live in his comfort zone, but he’s too cowardly to directly tell Ji Xing this. So when he finds a trivial mistake that could free him from blame, he immediately decides to break up with Ji Xing. It’s so cowardly. Ji Xing wasn’t the one absent during his lowest point; it was Yi Chen, who cowardly didn’t let Ji Xing see him at his lowest. What an annoying character.

Wei Qiu Zi is no different from Yi Chen. From the start, Qiu Zi never saw Yi Chen as Ji Xing's boyfriend. From the beginning, she targeted Yi Chen. As Ji Xing’s friend, she didn’t try to hold back her feelings at all. Honestly, I would avoid people like her in real life. That’s why she was there when Yi Chen was going through a tough time — because she tried to wedge herself into the relationship between Yi Chen and Ji Xing. And she got her moment. Honestly, Yi Chen and Qiu Zi are very well suited for each other. Thankfully, by the end of the episodes, they no longer appeared, so I could calm down when those two acted as if nothing had happened.

I can somewhat sympathize with Han Yuan’s character. She’s in an uncomfortable position. Though she’s the older sibling, she’s a woman. She’s also not as smart as her younger brother. She took care of Dong Yang while Han Ting was in Germany. Han Yuan is capable of leading Dong Yang. Unfortunately, Han Ting is also very capable of taking Dong Yang further. Understandably, Han Yuan lost direction at times because she was trying to maintain her presence. Thankfully, in the end, Ji Xing helped Han Yuan realize that she didn’t need to push Han Ting aside to keep her place in Dong Yang. After all, Han Yuan does have an important role there.

Ji Xing's character is very strong-willed. From the start, she had a very firm stance and determination. It’s no wonder someone like Yi Chen couldn’t match her. Even Han Ting was overwhelmed. But the reason why Han Ting endured and Yi Chen didn’t was that Han Ting never felt inferior to Ji Xing's strength. Instead, he wanted to become stronger too, so they could both improve together. On the other hand, Yi Chen felt inferior as Ji Xing grew stronger.

Previously, I had one favorite male character in Chinese dramas, Yu Tu from You Are My Glory. But now, that character has been replaced by Han Ting. I think someone like Han Ting couldn’t possibly exist in the real world. He’s the type of person who, when making a decision, will give 100% or even 200%. But he’s also very logical, he considers many factors, which makes him seem unreal. But if I met someone like Han Ting in real life, I’d probably chase after him haha.

When a huge argument happens between them, from Han Ting’s perspective, Ji Xing might seem selfish. She doesn’t know how much effort Han Ting has put in to protect her. But from Ji Xing’s point of view, what she did makes sense. Even though Han Ting is kind, intelligent, and logical, he never communicates his plans to Ji Xing. Ji Xing always felt like she was being told to "Just leave it to me," which wasn’t reassuring at all. Their relationship was built on a fragile foundation in the beginning. But fortunately, both Han Ting and Ji Xing didn’t give up trying to start over. Unlike at the start, when many people supported their relationship, now that they were getting back together, many people doubted them. But the two of them didn’t doubt at all.

Because they truly trusted each other. They communicated the right way, working hand in hand so that neither felt burdened or diminished. They truly valued each other's presence.

Honestly, the special episode of this drama left me feeling uncertain. I know, the end of a person’s life is like that. But still, when it was shown, it felt hard to accept. And yes, the scene where the camera focuses on Han Ting’s hand holding the forgiveness card made me cry. Earlier, Ji Xing had said that if Han Ting left first, she would be very angry. But in the end, Han Ting did leave first, and Ji Xing wasn’t angry because Han Ting used the forgiveness card.

My favorite scene in this drama was actually when Han Ting and Ji Xing had that huge argument. The scene was so intense, and the acting from Tan Song Yun and Xu Kai was amazing. I could feel Ji Xing’s anger and fear, but I also felt Han Ting’s frustration and annoyance. Xu Kai’s eyes conveyed those emotions so well.

This drama truly made me feel the ups and downs of a relationship. Overall, it might not be the best Chinese drama I’ve ever watched, but in terms of the experience while watching, this drama made me feel so many emotions. Especially when Han Ting decided to make Doctor Cloud’s data open-source. At that moment, I felt how wonderful it would be if something like that could happen in real life. Because, as we know, nowadays, data has become a tool for war between businesses and even nations. But in this drama, data was what brought them together. Dong Yang’s mission is truly noble, even the board of directors sarcastically commented that Han Ting turned Dong Yang into a charity organization.

Honestly, I might never feel the same way when watching another drama. Even though I rate this drama an 8.5, I enjoyed this drama, and I feel lucky to have watched it. This drama has become one of the most memorable ones for me.

PS: All the actors and actresses performed very well.

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The drama had too many parrallel stories but Han Ting and Ji Xing were perfect

I think this series could have wound down to 32 episodes if they hadn't added so many side stories. I think the problem with chinese drama in general is that they always like to have 3 - 4 parallel love stories. In fact, when they do not - like Hidden Love, the series is more likely to become a huge hit. This is the one thing I hated about this show - I hated the relationship of all of Ji Xing's friends, which I found completely unnecessary and a waste of time. The only other relationships that should have been covered were Zeng Di and her running to Tong Ke and her ex-boyfriend's eventual nuptials. Eventhough I loved LiLi, her entire love story was such a waste of time. And I understand the Xiao Meng's love story is a feel good addition, but again, completely unneccesary. In fact, I skipped a lot of those scenes because it just made me so frustrated.

Apart from what I hated, I feel like the core story line is super interesting - it brought to light the difficulty of starting a business, and how companies are able to grow in an emerging sector. Of course, the love story between Han Ting and Ji Xing was also incredible.

Instead of wasting time of pointless love stories of Ji Xing's best friend, I think it would have been great to focus on the aftermath of those people who wronged Ji Xing. I think this is something revenge Kdramas do very well. I wanted to see what happened to Ji Xing's colleague who turned against her (apart from just Han Ting mentioning that she would never find a job in the industry again), the poor woman recovering from her surgery and being able to take care of her daughter, and Zeng Di's situation and arrest, rather than just them reading a text message about them being questioned by the police.

I also wished they set up the scene for Zeng Di's story and how her grandfather would have reacted when she left Dong Yi and moved to Tong Ke, knowing that her grandfather was good friends with Han Ting's grandfather.

Anyway, I am just happy the end of the drama, apart from the shit show that is LiLi's relationship, and the annoying and ugly Su Zhi Zhou, it was super feel good.

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AN EPITOME OF TRUE LOVE

The character of Han Ting was what made me watch the drama. It usually revolves around how Han Ting fell in love with Ji Xing during his college days and then finally meets her as colleagues but his love for her never really changed. From the beginning till the end, even if Ji Xing had a boyfriend, Han Ting waited for her, never forced her and slowly and steadily went from being friends to lovers. The transition was truly beautiful. The 40 episodes were not much required and at the end a breakup kind of thing was unnecessary. Nevertheless, if one wants a slow and steady love story then should definitely try it out.

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STARTED WITH NO EXPECTATIONS, ENDED WITH A HEAVY HEART FILLED WITH EMOTIONS!

Honestly Cdramas are really slow paced for me and if the acting, directing and story is not interesting enough for me i drop it immediately. ABAY really turned my tables for me. Even though its slow paced, it really kept me going to the next episode and made me comfortable.
It portrays a beautiful story which is really captivating and all the characters are amazing. They all have their own story which makes the drama really appealing. I finished the drama filled with emotions and longing for more of their stories. Also the OST here is so pretty like i love it. Production team did its best!


Honestly i liked Xu Kai here more than FIYS. He is more mature here and gives more butterflies?.

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A Wholesome Storyline and beautiful acting

To say that I loved this drama is an understatement. It is a beautiful piece. It was a bit slow at first and I understood because of the kind of plot but it was a beautiful merge of romance and business. It was realistic, bitingly so, as it didn't give the viewers a pipe dream like most dramas do where people start companies and it just becomes big overnight. It shows the reality of business behind closed doors. I love Seven Tan. She plays her roles well and has easily become my favourite Cdrama actor. I've always loved Xu Kai, especially from Arsenal Military Academy and Yanxi Palace and at first, didn't buy into his role as CEO. I think the role took a bit of getting used to as at first, he was quite stiff but subsequently, flowed into it naturally. Oh! How I love the side characters. Everyone executed their roles expertly. It is a solid drama considering all the other dramas that have been coming out of the Chinese entertainment industry. Honestly, I didn't expect much but I loved this one. It's a ten from me. To whoever feels this is not worth the watch, just try it. It'll grow on you. I think that for this year, this is the best CDrama so far and if you're like me who finds it hard to get a solid Cdrama like Meet Yourself, The Story of Minglan, Sword and the Brocade , Nothing But Thirty, First Half of my Life, etc, you'll understand why this is a must see.

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Slow burn romance with awesome chemistry

ACTING: The first time I watched Tan Song Yun in anything was 'Go Ahead' and I really liked her character in that drama. I also really liked the character she played in this drama. She's a great actress and in both had amazing chemistry with her co-stars. However, this was my fourth attempt to watch a Xu Kai drama and this is the *FIRST TIME* I've seen him display romantic chemistry worth watching with a co-star. Certainly, he's a good actor. But his romances had always fallen flat for me in the past. But with Tan Song Yun, their chemistry together was the reason I actually finished this otherwise somewhat boring drama.

ROMANCE STORY: Their slow burn story was worth watching and I loved their conflict / 3rd act breakup. It all made sense.

OVERALL STORY: It was your typical modern CDrama with some intrigue. Nothing new, special, or interesting.

PRODUCTION VALUES: Great

DIRECTION: Fine

WRITING / DIALOGUE: Fine.

MUSIC: Fine.

Overall, definitely worth a watch for the romance storyline (if romance is your thing).

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Honestly to say I was very tempted to rate this 7/10 or 7.5/10 is such an understatement but I will give it an 8. The acting of the cast overall was actually so good, it came across so natural, I was very impressed, especially compared to alot of idol CDramas nowadays where most of them especially the MLs cant act worth a dime.
The romance took a while to start but that’s on par with how almost every CDrama with 40+eps go, so I kinda was not surprised about that, normally I’m against FLs forgiving MLs for lying to them, but I’m ok with how this went and it wasn’t an instant or fast forgiveness, it took time and reflection which I liked.
The reason why I wanted to reduce my rating was cos of the 2nd couple, I won’t even go into the 3rd couple cos I ⏩ all their scenes as I could care less about them, no offense 2 them (BTW I liked his mom), anyways I agree with LiLi not ending up with Xiao but her ending up with that man child (no matter how they tried to dress him up in the later part of the drama to look matured, it just wasn’t working cos he still looked like a kid) IMO is such an insult to her character, first cos she said no several times but apparently no ain’t no, 2ndly there was zero physical chemistry between them but they just made her settle for him cos they were so hell bent on going the nice guy don’t finish last route to make so kind of statement that IMO failed so miserably, I’m so pissed actually about how that storyline ended.
Anyways overall I do recommend.

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Loving it!!

I read the novel like 5 times before the drama started! In all honesty, I have no idea why some people are hating the drama? Yes, sure, the writers changed Han Ting's character to be more approachable, more human vs the cold Han Ting in the novel. I think that by creating a new backstory of them knowing one another in college really makes Han Ting's love & pursuit of Ji Xing more realistic. I mean while I was reading the novel, I was wondering how would a successful and powerful COE like Han Ting who has invested in so many companies and who is so busy with his own battles have the time and energy to coach and pay special attention to Ji Xing? Like what he said, he has seen so many new start ups and they all have the same passion and drive. So what made Ji Xing so special in the novel? Just because she banged into his car in the beginning? But in the drama, it just plays out so well....this guy unexpectedly met his first love/crush after 10 years!!! And what do you know, she works in his company and in the same building. Squeal! So there he is, using all opportunity and chance to try to get closer to her. And guess what? Her passion and ideals are still the same as in college!!! I honestly believe that he loves her...but unfortunately, they didn't start on the right foot....it was a one-night stand (to her) and they are in a mentor-mentee relationship. They don't know one another on a personal level, like their likes/dislikes etc. So I think that's where the miscommunication started. But you know what, I am loving this and I can't wait for everyday to watch a new episode!

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As boring as ...

--Positive Disclaimer--

If you are usually not impressed by idol and romance dramas, this one certainly isn't the canary in the coalmine that's going to surprise you‒you are better off checking out Fake It Till You Make It. But if you are the preferred audience, you may find this show to be above average in casting a FL that has a checklist of things such as career, independence, nonbitchiness, professional competence, smarts, a supportive boyfriend, non-toxic breakup, rich dude that's not annoying, blah blah blah. It's similar various other Tan Songyun professional dramas such as A Flight to You, Master of My Own, etc. So if you liked her in those, you'll probably like her here. The MDL viewership numbers and even its decent China viewership numbers clearly indicate that this was interesting for some people. Oh one more thing, the screenwriter managed to continue her creative ascent by topping her previous masterpiece 'Only For Love' ... who would have thought. That's all the good things I can possibly say, if want more positivity, stop reading and head elsewhere.

‒Short Review that ran long‒

As Beautiful As You was a drive-through lobotomy session that materialized when I got the crazy idea to watch airing dramas, even though the only thing airing were the putrid cadaver decompositions in the CDrama wasteland. I also held out the slim hope that Tang Sonyun isn't just going to waste her career making yet another cookie-cutter professional drama, and that this would at least be 'idol-drama good' (aka substandard in all sorts of ways, but with some creativity and redeeming features). Instead I came away as frustrated about her make-believe professional depiction on-screen as her actual career off-screen.

Immediately in the first episode, we are slammed with all sorts of predictable cliches that had my shit-show Geiger Counter going Chernobyl. With every scene, we are given all the telltale elements to predict the next scene, the next plot twist, and pretty much what the ending's going to look like. The plotline is so scandalously see-through that all the viewers should get the 'Angela Baby at a burlesque show' treatment and be permanently deplatformed.

But if you prefer to be selective with your defenestration location, you can take the elevator up to the C-suite penthouse where where a whole boardroom of lazy tropes are stuffed into a Xu Kai you-are-too-skinny-for-that power suit. We have the 8-pack I-can't-believe-he's-virginal uber-rich genius charismatic CEO cum gourmet chef who's socially adept with high EQ, but is completely helpless in expressing his love for his pixie dream girl supersmart competent classmate innocent firstlove interest that slowly realizes they are meant for each other. It's the Chinese-American restaurant menu approach of character writing with the chicken-pork-beef-shrimp-veggie Lo Mein permutations of originality by addition. The only interesting thought that the plot inspired was wondering what glory would follow if the screenwriter instead opened up a school to teach career development and sex ed.

And unlike the value offering from hardworking immigrant restauranteurs, the show delivers little value for its budget or your time investment. The cinematography has all the richness of an Alibaba wholesaler product video. The derivative soundtrack creates the aural experience of being subjected to a discount elevator music playlist while you are trapped and the doors won't open. Even the titles, both English and Chinese, reads like the diary heading of some 12-year-old.

The main leads, being Tan Songyun and Xu Kai are at least serviceable in portraying the ridiculous characters they are given. But this is their comfort zone, where they've done so many similar characters and dramas that they can do it with their eyes closed, or in Xu Kai's case, wearing the same suit from his other CEO drama. We are spared the Wang Hedi CEO stylistic assault, but watching them has all the novelty of watching McDonald's open up another franchise.

And that's the only part that engenders some emotion in me that's not boredom or frustration. I haven't seen Xu Kai enough to care or be disappointed. But I sincerely hope that Tan Songyun showed enough acting chops, unique personality, and potential early on that she can be a stalwart in more interesting CDramas. She garnered pretty positive review from astute observers for her various school and other dramas. In an era where actresses have more surgeries than full-sized meals, she has kept her distinctive look, and not be swayed by the CDrama peanut gallery, whose unmatched ability to call someone ugly has never looked itself in the mirror. And off-screen, from as much one can really guess about a performer's true character, she seems to belong to that precious minority that are still able to prioritize integrity, professionalism, and decency over the trappings of acting fame.

Granted, that hope is born of a selfish desire to see less of Yu Shuxins of the world. But for as much as I mock the parasocial nature of drama fandoms, I can't help but hope for some real kernels of decency, inspiration, and feel-good story for the human beings off-screen. Perhaps she's a one-character wonder. And perhaps she's happy to stay that way. And perhaps success in the entertainment business is even more precarious than in startups where you only strike gold when all the stars align. Whatever the case, I will continue to wish Seven Tan and other similar actors success. If for nothing else than to chirp from the peanut gallery: "see, I always believed she had much greater potential."

--Category Ratings--

- Overall [5] - I give it a 5 for this being a very average show. I typically give popular or slightly different idol dramas that nevertheless inspire seppuku a 5.5. So the 5 rating is more of an indication of how much worse other shows are in dramaland than anything else. Based on subjective reaction or brain cells lost, I'd rate idol dramas even lower.

- Plot - 5
- Theme / Message / Impact - 6
- Acting - 7
- Visuals - 6.5
- Audio - 5
- Rewatch - 5
- Accessibility - 8
- Subtitle quality - 8

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Once again, Xu Kai takes on a Potentially Good Story which Unfortunately Veers off into the Tedious

A woman who is the brains behind the design of a new medical technology is on the precipice of rising to a new level within her company and subsequently the medical technology industry. Not only that, she seems to be well rounded with a personal life full of friends and a loving boyfriend who wants to marry her. Of course her road to career success starts off rough with her male supervisor knowing her talent but deliberately blocking her growth for fear that she’d outshine him and the inevitable male pig or two who feels he can treat women like sexual objects whom he can harass at his leisure. The first few episodes entailed the FlL dealing with these obstacles in the office with no support from her male or female office leaders. It was infuriating to watch, but entertaining.

Ji Xing (FL) was a strong woman who stood up for herself. Reporting sexual harassment when others tried to deter her complaint and quitting her job when she realized they’d never reward the value she brought to the company. Many of us have been there. So I cheered her on when she made that wise decision to move on. Moreover, when friends, colleagues and even her boyfriend weren’t overly supportive of her starting her own business she pushed forward, making adjustments to the business plan where needed, to improve her chances of success. Loved this.

On a shallow note, the FL looked 35 rather than her character’s age. Good actress, but she looked too old to be in her early 20s. The styling of her hair didn't help and the ML though in real life in his late 20s, looked way older than his character's age. But at least he looked old enough to run a conglomerate unlike most of the MLs in C-dramas who look all of 21 years old. Lol.

That said, I liked the business interactions between the leads and was intrigued by how the romance would develop between them, but I also liked the potential that was the relationship between the FL and her boyfriend. The story started to lose my interest with the contrived breakup of the FL and her boyfriend. The reasons made no sense and was a mere plot device, not well written I might add, to make the FL easily available to the ML. It would've been more interesting had the ML had to fight for the FL's affections with her eventually realizing he was a better match for her than her boyfriend. Unfortunately, no such luck. I could predict where the story would go from here as the plot contrivances started almost immediately after the breakup with the ML showing up at the FL’s home for some ridiculous reason, and in turn, happened to meet her mom who loved him. And of course with him now having invested in her business, mind you he only invested so that he could continue to work closely with her in hopes of then dating SMH, the plot contrivances would undoubtedly continue. At this point, I stopped watching the show. It’s a shame because I really liked the set up of the story, but the writing kind of got lost within itself after about 10 episodes.

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