Short Form Dramas

A Familiar Stranger - there's a reason it's one of the most popular! ML and FL have incredible chemistry, the plot is super intriguing (face-swapping, identity mixups, romance), and it's a little darker so not as bubbly as some mini dramas can be. - u/Artistic-End-6452

Believe in Love - Two people who were lovers in a previous life; the man is now lord of an island while the girl is the daughter of a local noodle shop owner. The guy's parents wanted him to marry the girl in order to inherit the entire island. Big reason I recommend is that it has one of the hottest kisses I've seen in a cdrama ;) - u/Artistic-End-6452
 

Butterflied Lover - a darker, gothic romance between a general (the husband) and his wife, who has a dangerous secret. Their village is being overrun by creepy vampiric creatures who feed on humans, and the general is trying to wipe them out to save the village. - u/Artistic-End-6452

Fortune Writer , starring the lovely and talented Daisy Li/Li MuChen (Provoke, Broken the Heart). Its somewhat silly premise is that she’s the villain in a book that wants to punish her. She maintains a ruthless selfishness throughout, and yet you can’t help but root for her, not only because everyone else is pretty horrible too, but also because she’s incredibly brave and resourceful and refuses to accept the fate that has literally been written for her. This drama manages to be both dark and hilarious. It also deals with some pretty deep philosophy, but never to the detriment of the fun. The ML has pretty much one expression, but he’s well cast and the romance is engaging and satisfying. - u/phroggies70

Disclaimer: Quoting myself from a longer review, edited here for brevity.

Hard to Find - the FL did something terrible but for a good reason. The ML has been looking for her for three years to get something she took, but when he finally finds her, it turns out she has amnesia.

The story was beautiful and I felt every moment counted. There are so many emotions and angst. The visuals were great and I just loved the cinematography and the costumes in this drama. - u/acomplishedbread

My Decoy Bride - ML discovers that his fiancee wants to kill him on their wedding night, so he fakes amnesia in order to stall her and try to figure out her true identity. The two of them build trust and eventually begin falling for each other. I just thought the romance was so well done in this, and the leads had great chemistry - u/Artistic-End-6452

Parasites—good news, everyone; Tencent has finally started subbing this on Youtube!

This sci-fi/thriller is an original, unusual plot and a worthwhile watch. The premise is that a poor young woman is hotly pursued by a handsome stranger; she abandons her former life to follow him to a new city, only to begin to wonder if all is as it seems. When she learns that his company is exploring a method by which one body can be parasitically taken over by another, she gets even more worried. It’s very tense (not really super scary, though) and well-plotted.

Cons: Note that this drama has sci-fi and romance elements—neither is super well developed and if that’s important to you, you might be disappointed. It’s maybe sometimes too efficient in its storytelling. I did find myself sometimes thinking motives seemed weirdly off, though often the plot filled those gaps in eventually. It has a somewhat low-budget feel, if that’s the sort of thing that bothers you. - u/phroggies70

Supervisor Husband - transmigration; a young woman who works as a kiss coordinator for movies winds up in a comic. She has to earn enough "Mary Sue" points and win over the ML in order to get out, but then meets the villain character and is like "okay hold up.." Same FL as A Familiar Stranger - u/Artistic-End-6452

The Blessed Bride - A young woman is forced by her brother to marry the son of their family's enemy in order to spy on him. But he's kind of onto her and she also does not want to be there, so the two of them have a really interesting start to their relationship. Overall a really fun show! - u/Artistic-End-6452

Deliberations of Love is a rare time loop drama in which we don’t need to waste time while the protagonist figures out the rules - it jumps right in and drags you along. As with most time loop dramas, one of the leads (in this case the FL) is trying to change their fate with each iteration. The leads have good chemistry and the story is short enough that the time loop doesn’t get old. - u/TVAddict4

The Deliberations of Love - a woman is transmigrated back to ancient times and takes the place of a woman about to be married. She is murdered by drinking poison almost immediately, but then is transported back to the same time, and it becomes clear she must change her fate. - u/Artistic-End-6452

'The Killer Is Also Romantic' - It's an easy, light-hearted watch for those who enjoy the "Mr & Mrs. Smith" trope. The story revolves around 2 leads with very different personalities who got together without knowing the true identities of one another. The drama isn't convoluted at all and it manages to tell the story it set out to tell by the end of 180 minutes.

ML and FL have sufficient chemistry imo and were quite cute, and some of the scenes were quite fun/funny. I was recommended it by netizens on Bilibili and really enjoyed it! Since 'The Killer Is Also Romantic', the director Zeng Qing Jie went on to direct other popular short form dramas, such as 'A Familiar Stranger' and 'Provoke'. The show is also on Youtube! - u/saynotopudding