Sweet romance with a 100% rewatch value

Not the best looking pair of actors but chemistry between the OTP makes their storyline so endearing . The pacing reminds me of Korean drama where the story develops quickly from episode 1 . Love that there are no unnecessary side characters whose stories are of little interest to the viewers but served to drag out the drama unnecessarily. I watched all 24 episodes without having to press ff which is rare with most Chinese dramas. I also like the swoon worthy ways the male lead shows his love - his gaze is often on the female lead, the way he puts food on her bowl and the childish and needy side that is only shown to her while the rest of the world see his cold and calculative persona. Kudos to the director for inviting the viewer to draw their own conclusions . For instance, the female lead remarked that the change of clothes he gave her when she fell into the river fitted her so well but I infer he made it for her as it fitted her to the tee and it’s in green, a colour he is often dressed in. A lot of people think it’s a sad ending or at least an open ending but I disagree. The clues are there - she came back to the capital after 3 years and gifted his pendant to the owner of the restaurant knowing very well he is his supporter and likely to show it to him. I like to think this is her way of telling him she is back and to come and find her. Also when she heard someone said ‘Your Majesty’ her face brightened and she turned round looking for him . Surely with his resources he would be able to find her quickly. She is a general daughter who understands politics, duty and looking at the big picture- I like to think she just need to spend some time alone to grief for the destruction of her family and her army before she can let herself be happy again.

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Surprisingly good

I tend to avoid Chinese sci fi thrillers as they are usually full of plot holes and poorly researched so was pleasantly surprised by how well written the script was for this one. Feynman's theory on time loop was woven into the final decision Lei Chu Xia made not to reunite with Xiao Dong ten years later as every time she comes back, she will inevitably harm Xiao Dong no matter how much she try to change the past. Its a bitter sweet decision - I am not a fan of Ju Jing Yi but she managed to make me cry when she taped her final goodbye to Xiao Dong.
Zheng Ye Cheng has proven again how versatile a actor he is - for this role, he fitted so well into the character of Xiao Dong and I have forgotten how charming he was as the fierce soldier he was in the Sleepless Princess nor the gay, clueless boy in Love OXO.
Could this better? Ju Jing Yi needs to move away from the styling she seems to favors - heavy eye makeup on white flawless complexion and way too much accessories. The dangly bits made her look ridiculous in Rebirth for you and same thing here, the bejeweled headband and how can one look away from the Chanel ear rings LOL.
All in all, the suspense in this drama was on point, 24 episodes just nice without too much wasted on unnecessary boring side characters. Poor Merxat needs a break - he is awesome in this drama and he needs to have a drama when he will get Ju Jing Yi.

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It's criminal how the producers of this drama butchered a delightful romantic comedy

I started reading ongoing English translations of the novel on which this drama is based on before the broadcast and was equally waiting for it to be broadcast, especially when I found out that Shane Xiao, whom I enjoyed watching in the Little Nonya will be the FL. But onto episode 4, I am banging my head on the wall - even a scriptwriter with mediocre talent could do a better job - he or she only need to lift the dialogue and plot from the book to write an engaging script. All the elements are there from Chapter 1 when we met the stingy Long Yue who does not like to loose money. Miffed when he was tricked by our blind FL, Ju Mu Er into building awnings over his shops to provide shelter from sun and rain for her flower seller friend, he started on a childish campaign to seek revenge. Follow the story when his harmless pranks (stealing her cane and scaring her in the woods) turned into unwilling attraction, from compassion when she was nearly killed when she walked into a midst of a murder to admiration. Book was written mainly from the point of his inner thoughts, and you can tell from their interactions, he was slowly and reluctantly falling in love so much so his initial rejection of her marriage proposal quickly turned into agreement when he realized that if she marry someone else, he can no longer bicker with her. Some of the scenes in the book are killer romantic, for instance when she was unconsciously moving her fingers over his hand while talking about teaching qin, he spread his hands to increase the surface area for her to touch and how quick he was to explain his presence in the brothel when she remarked she could tell which brothel he was in earlier from the scent of the ladies that lingered on his body. And the comedy....Ju Mu Er's father was so comically dense when Long Yue came to visit her, only to find FL's ex fiancée just left with gifts that demonstrated that he and Ju Mu Er were old friends and soulmate. Not only was he frustrated that FL was sleeping when he arrived, his future FIL was going on and on about the relationship of these two couples oblivious to the winking of Long Yue's bodyguard to stop, even remarking that the latter needs to see an eye specialist as he seems to have a tick in his eyes. Kudos to the translator for translating this scene from chinese to english so vividly I laughed out loud when I read that part.
But I digress. Back to the show which for some inexplicable reasons, the producer threw away all the delightful elements of the book to introduce a new character, Ju Mu Er's teacher and reduced the sexual tension between the couple to childish bickering . The intelligent Ju Mu Er who need to rely on her sense of touch and smell to compensate for her lack of sight became this wu xia maiden who fell again and again for ML's so obvious tricks. Chemistry between the OTP played by Shane Xiao and Xing Zhao Lin is almost non existent, the makeup garish transforming the delicate Shane Xiao into an over painted shrew and the lighting just flooding the whole set with bright light and colors. I can't bear to watch this drama - its too painful and have gone back to patiently waiting for the translated chapters to be slooowly uploaded.

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