A Woman's Journey of Love and Growth

I know I'm pretty late writing this review, but I only discovered this C-drama a while back. I am a huge K-dramaholic, and I haven't watched many C-dramas, but this is my first review, so please bear with me. Also, I'm an MDL newbie. (Note: this is quite long, so u might wanna buckle up for this one)
First of all, I'm sure you know the basic storyline of this series: It tells the journey of Huang Yimei (Rose), as she explores love and more importantly, grows as a person.
Rose is overall, a very broad-minded and independent character who doesn't limit herself, be it in love, life, or career. She loves exploring and learning, and that's exactly what she does in the whole series. Throughout the series, she has 4 lovelines. Here's the in-depth:
#1- Zhuang Guodong- In my opinion, the two had really good chemistry, except their relationship was so obviously not going to work out. The two were just beginning to enjoy a peak in their careers, and they had begun their relationship after meeting as colleagues. They had promised not to bring their work to their romance, but that's exactly what brought issues. ZGD was Rose's first love, and she was quite impulsive in the relationship, but so was ZGD. They had fights, but they made up just by kissing. Yes, that's where we know that this relationship wasn't gonna work out. Rose valued her up-and-coming career as an art curator, but she valued the relationship more, while ZGD was more career-oriented. They decided on a long-distance relationship, but that too ended up in a disaster. Honestly, it was quite painful to watch Rose get neurotic when they had fights- throwing things and screaming, and it almost made me dislike her character. But, I was quite satisfied that it ended. They do become friends though. Although ZGD still has feelings for, Rose manages to keep a friendly distance from him.

#2- Fang Xiewen- My least favourite of the lovelines, and I think many would agree with me. I felt that Rose fell for FXW because she was out of the passionate relationship with her first love, and was looking for something peaceful and secure. And boy, was her decision wrong. FXW fell for Rose at first sight, in college in Shanghai (he was her senior). After entering in an relationship, she even supports him financially for his start-up. FXW had subtly implied on many of their early days of dating that he wanted her to stay at home, but it was so subtle you could hardly notice. Things went downhill from the day Rose introduced FXW to ZGD (her first love). This triggers FXW's insecurity and he decides that he wants to be better than Rose's first love. This plus his narrow-minded mother, honestly, ruined Rose's otherwise bright future. He got so controlling after the marriage, but he made Rose believe that he was doing it for "their" future, when in reality, he was just feeding his insecure self. He got so manipulative to the point that I realised he was the toxic one, and not ZGD. He had pretended to be open-minded, but only became more old-school. I was so relieved when Rose had bravely stepped forward to divorce him. The way he and his mother treated her and her family was ridiculous. Like, what's wrong with crying when you meet you parents after years? What's wrong with going to your parents' house when you miss them? It was so hard watching those scenes. At the end of their relationship, I especially loved and admired how Rose handled the divorce situation. She didn't break things or scream, unlike in the first relationship, so we can actually see how she has grown in the past few years. Also, this loveline was unnecessarily lengthy, but honestly, it gets better after it ends.

#3. Fu Jiaming- Rose's soulmate played by Wallace Huo. Rose is now out of the controlling marriage, and she and her daughter are living in Beijing at her parents' house. Her career also gets better and she is again back on track as the carefree and independent woman she was raised to be. She meets FJM, an artist who is also very similar to her. The two share the same philosophies of life- living freely without any bounds. Sparks fly since the first day they meet, and it's obvious to everyone (including them) that they're endgame. However, it is not so true with that tragic end the writer gave to their story. But still, that's not what I hated in this loveline. What I hated was that they didn't even have many episodes. Her previous disastrous relationship was too long, and this one was too short. I would have loved if they had extended this loveline a bit more, and ended it a bit less heartbreakingly.

#4. He Xi- Ok, I don't even know if they actually date. The two definitely have some feelings for each other, but at the finale, Rose says- "Don't promise the future." So, the ending was open-ended, and we don't really know if they actually date or not.

Despite the amazing character that Rose is, my favourite was Su Gengsheng. She was absolutely BRILLIANT! I loved how she transforms from a sensitive, reserved person to a secure and happy person. She has a backstory that worked so well with the otherwise light-hearted plot. But most importantly, what I liked was her relationship with Rose's older brother- Huang Zhenhua. In fact, I loved it even more than any of Rose's relationship. As I watched more of it, I realised that I was watching the drama just because of them. They had such a healthy and mature relationship, bringing out the best of each other. They did have a few secrets from each other, which I thought was unnecessary, but instead of breaking up, they worked on their shortcomings and stayed beside each other. I adored how HZH played a gentle, kind, at times a bit childish, but protective character. Su leaned on him and found security, which I supported. Their enemies-friends-lovers storyline was AMAZING and worth the watch.

The Music- OH MY GOD! It was beautiful! Especially the ending theme, which literally gave me the chills. Seriously. Phenomenal OST.

Thank You~
P.S. I loved Rose and HZH's parents so much. They're GOAT!

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