A GEM of C-Dramas! Made Me Smile, Laugh, Blush & feel the Spirit of E-Sports Players!

"Whether it's E-sports or Her, I just want to Love what I really Love" – Lu Si Cheng.
Ohh I loved this Sentence! All released trailers were quite eye-catching. I was drawn to the drama later after a few (around 8/10) episodes were already Aired as my friends here kept on discussing about it. First of all I love the genre 'Comedy' and let me tell you that this drama definitely has a good comic plot. Simple activities in the Drama are made Funny with perfect dialogues & expressions. Almost all characters are loveable… of course, excluding those few negative ones. The Drama Enters the light Rom-Com category too. 31 Eps doesn't seem draggy here. They suit the Concept of the Drama.



Initial Thoughts of the show —
Just the Ep 1 is enough to make you drawn to watch later part of the show. There was obviously no romance genre in the initial episodes so, 'comedy' & 'e-sports' theme rules the drama completely. The Visuals of the drama is something that I should definitely mention. I can't guarantee for everyone but I was very Busy looking at those handsome faces. "A Bickering Couple" this is how Lu Si Cheng & Tong Yao can be defined in the starting episodes. They will bicker & make us smile over them in almost Every Episode!



Story —
Kind of the typical story for the main couple that they will bicker & turn friends slowly then get together. E-sports is the main focused theme. So, there will be many matches & competitions. It will revolve around the main players of main teams (i.e. ZGDX, YQCB, CK, TAT). There are several other teams mentioned too but for once/twice only. The drama will show how some players can get parents' support while some cannot. Different problems faced by a E-sports player like getting hand injuries, facing social issues, impression on fans – maintaining their perfect image, how online comments can affect their performance, coping with personal issues while being a good player etc. One thing that I can confidently say is you are gonna love the Team "ZGDX" & their bonding.

Most Characters seem Legit & Reasonable. They have their own background Story. But considering it's a 31 Eps Drama, I still think that some background about characters could have been shown in a detailed way rather than showing Team Meals again & again. I mean it's quite clear that they are a team, they live in the same base camp & they will have meals together & yeah I agree that most of the funny moments are shown while their meal scenes only. They tried to balance it but still…

Considering E-sports, the makers have done a good research & portrayed it in the drama in a really organized way. This drama kind of reminds us of another C-Drama "Go Go Squid". If you have seen it, you can relate this Drama to it. But I have to tell you that FLs of noth dramas are entirely different.

The amount of Kiss scenes in the drama was really unexpected. According to me there were too many of them but they were Cute. It was also unexpected how 'Lu Si Cheng' turned from a Teasing Man to a Flirting man. I mean he will just keep you blushing in the whole 2nd half the drama.

Now, it's time to Move on to My personal Favorite Characters from the Drama —
• Fatty (lol just thinking about his expressions makes me laugh & he got the Perfect timing to be in the right place in the wrong time. I mean he can always witness most of the embarrassing scenes & then his reactions are just Epic lol).
• Lu Si Cheng (How can someone not fall in love with this character! Ooh the change in him in the later half of the drama is just… But this alone do not makes him my Fav. It's about his straightforwardness & ideals. His statements were always up to the mark if either he was guiding his teammates as the Captain or he was scolding them. He was not partial. It may seem that he was just favouring Tong Yao but later on, his original intentions will be revealed that were quite genuine).



Acting/Cast —
Considering all BTS videos that I have seen on the drama. All characters have really worked hard from practicing games to correct finger movements in the keyboard… from fingers in keyboard while playing to Expressions management on the face according to the match that they are losing or winning. All roles of E-sports players did a good job in it!!
Main Characters ~ Lu Si Cheng (played by Xu Kai) was perfect for this role. He's so tall that he can call anyone "Shorty" , then his leader role matches his personality too. I am quite shocked that this is actually his first modern drama. He's def. a good actor considering that. Tong Yao ( Cheng Xiao ) was portrayed beautifully. She has a Cute Face but can perform a strong character. She has really improved in acting. Members of ZGDX –
•Lao Mao (Kevin Xiao)
•Lu Yue (Yao Chi),
•Fatty (Sun Kai),
•K (Gao Han),
•God Ming (Yalkun Merxat) &
•Xuao Rui (Cui Shao Yang) …… are all Awesome Characters & they could create that funny atmosphere becoz of their awesome acting.
… Ai Jia (Zhou Yiran), Chen Jin Yang (Rachel Wang) form the 2nd couple who look cute as 2nd Leads.
Everyone performed their roles nicely!



Rewatch value —
I am sure I will rewatch this drama later just because it's so Funny & can easily bring smile in my face… so this drama holds a big rewatch value for me, which is quite Rare.



Music —
I am sure the creators invested quite a lot in the songs as there are some songs sang by pretty famous C-Pop groups + there is a long list of songs. most of the songs represent their competitiveness & power. The upbeats & strong vibes in the songs are really cool.

The OSTs —
♪Everytime♪ …… [by WayV. I would say the best among all of them. I love the energy & power of the song! Perfect for me!]
♪Warrior♪ …… [by SEVENTEEN. It's energetic & suits that competitive environment in E-sports]
♪Heroes♪ …… [by Air League Band. It's the theme song for ZGDX team. Powerful!]
♪Soulmate♪ …… [by Xu Kai & Cheng Xiao. A romantic song for the duo sang by them only which is Perfect]
♪Running to you♪ …… [by Angela Cheng.]
♪Follow the Light♪ …… [by Chen Zhouxuan of BonBon Girls 303]
♪Edge♪ …… [by Naomi Wang. Unexpectedly, I like listening to it again & again "We won't Cry, Nooo" ]
♪Signs of You♪ …… [by Zhai Xiaowen ft. FrankiD]
♪Before Dawn♪ …… [by Gao Han]
♪Facade♪ …… [by Joker Xue]

Out of these, "Everytime" & "Edge" joined my Favorite list & "Heroes" was pretty good too.



Conclusion —
A Good News! That If you have made up your mind to watch this drama, all episodes are already available free in YouTube legally in "Youku" & the songs are already released in the channel "NSM Group". So, basically there is no barrier. I have mentioned all my thoughts on the drama now. so, if you ask me – Should I watch this? I would say "Definitely Yes" cause I didn't regret watching it at all. Infact, I enjoyed it wholeheartedly!
*Yet again, watching/not watching is your call*

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An Enchanting Xianxia after a while.

watching TLoSL was nothing but a whole fine ass experience. they don't really offer you a very exclusive tale but its —
• the beautifully crafted characters
• the insane chemistry
• soulful OST
• enchanting CGI
• demon serpent
• the emotional build-up
• impressive acting by leads

~ all that this drama brings in, has my heart. Grabbing our attention instantly from the first episode and taking us on a journey of a forbidden love story amongst a tropey xianxia, I was hooked. And this review is gonna be long haha.

Almost like any other Xianxias, its saving the world story with glorified God vs Chimei (evil spirit) fights and all that eternal thousands of years of saving the three realms stuff... but with gorgeously talented actors like Zhao Liying, Lin Gengxin, Zeng Li, Jackie Li, Xuan Lu and Xu Haiqiao, TLoSL builds up a great watching experience.

Shen Li. She is fierce. She is kind. She is practical. She is the coolest. Holding her spear firmly in one hand and Xingzhi on the other, she protects everyone. The amount of patience, courage and discipline this woman owns... no wonder almost everyone worships her.

She is not perfect, but a character you can look up to. unrestricted to any feminine stereotypes, you'll see her taking charge often... there was something very delicate about Zhao Liying playing this role that she never came off as arrogant or overrated, not even for once... only a versatile goddess can slay such a character.

On the other hand, Xingzhi, the aloof lonesome God who can tell you a joke while spitting blood and got that cooking rizz which she couldn't resist. Xingzhi's dilemma with the responsibilities he beared versus the love he felt was literally brought to life by Lin Gengxin. I loved how in the starting all his expressions were limited but his face had more movements and energy when their relationship developed further. Their flirty banters always left me smiling ear to ear.

When Shen Li was "yang", xingzhi was the "yin" balancing them. Its "him protecting her when she is busy protecting the world story"... the untouchable god who was meant to stay unbothered starts caring for her once and cannot let go now, woah! I just got deeper and deeper into their fluff. The sequential emotional build up was that amazing!

At some point, I also let go of all the complaints I had that we aren't getting anything special as a "story"... Cuz their bonding over the silly conversations and the angst of how they should not be together while trying to defeat the villains was in itself a story. It all grew on me as the drama progressed... Tbh I haven't sobbed like this in a while like I did in those last few episodes. Even supporting aids like Furong, Mofang, Youlan also got their potential growths as a character which increased my rating... I can't forget to mention the sassy demon serpent, she deserves her own drama!

Idk how much they spend to get such mesmerizing CGI cuz some scenes like all the cluck cluck scenes, sitting on top of a tree with moonlight, a demon action sequence using paintings as weapon, came out very cool and clean... For OSTs we get tracks from Zhang Bichen, Liu Yuning, Curley Gao etc. Those are basically living in my mind rent free by now.


Overall, definitely recommending "The legend of Shen Li" to all the Xianxia lovers out there. Meanwhile I'll be off to check out Princess Agents now ;)♡

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Characters here are never out of tricks

And finally a great female lead that stands out unique to other female characters strongly…

The female protagonist here Mu Wan Qing (acted by Jingyi Zhang) suggests them ideas, shows bravery when needed & do not hesitates to help or take risks to get something. She's cool, gives answers to insults, not your typical crybaby. Male lead & second male lead are there to help her but she isn't a burden on anyone. She knows many languages, is hardworking & knowledgeable not only for problems in life but also in business. The way she deals with her evil step sister is so pleasing to see like originally female leads must be sobbing in some corner but this female lead makes that evil one cry instead. The way she supports Xuan Lin unconditionally is also amazing.

Male lead — Tan Xuan Lin (played by Chen Xing Xu) is also a good character. He is always cool, fun & cracking jokes. Even when situation is complicated, he has the time to joke around & bicker with other leads. But the deeper part is that he has an emotional side too. He has his own reasons & rules. He is quite intelligent too as he tackels his problems in the best way possible. His relationship with his sister is adorable.

Another Male lead — Xu Guang Yao (played by Evan Lin) my poor boy Evan, it's just his second work as an actor & he has been really acting so well but why you gave him a second lead role. Poor him T_T… then this character Xu Guang Yao is a righteous man who doesn't know much to play tricks but he's still intelligent. He is like the definition of Nice male lead. He's caring, kind & protective towards our female lead, Wan Qing… he has 2 best friends who try their best to support him. I liked their bond too.

The positive part of this drama is that though there's a lot of politics but it's not so boring, I was actually enjoying people tricking each other like that. Every character is important, has their own background story & are clever. No one accepts defeat easily & comes back with new ideas. Overall, the drama gets more interesting as we go ahead… well, everyone wants to save their position but who will save the people? That's a nice point presented here…


MUSIC / OSTs
♪Eyes like star♪ — by Si Nan (the lyrics is beautiful, so is the voice and music. Soothing & slow… it's the opening theme song)
♪Clearly know♪ — Cai Yisheng (I liked this song too)
♪Horse ride♪ — Zhang He Xuan (this is the ending theme song)
♪Your promise♪ — Dai Yutong
♪Swaying♪ — Liu


Rewatch value… No, I am not rewatching this again. Well, I am not a frequent rewatcher and It's kinda lengthy so… though I enjoyed it, its a one time watch drama only.

TO CONCLUDE… it's a 9.5 out of 10 overall. There's politics for getting power, good supporting roles who keep us entertained throughout. Interesting characters with their own story & stuffs to deal with & how the leads make their bond more stronger while sorting out the complications is what the story is about.
Reasonable characters knitting a wonderful story…!!

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Defining HARD WORK & NEVER GIVING UP once again by a 90s story

STORY
I appreciate how the tag Friendship was expressed here through Xiao Chuang and Pei Qing hua… I enjoyed watching all their conversations and seeing their bond develop throughout the show.

The beginning of each episode will keep reminding you that you're watching a 90s story, all the retro vibes, the trains, the small TVs, using telephone, letters… I love how enjoyable first half of this drama was.

What this drama taught me from the very beginning is about hard work. If you are motivated enough and consistently focused for your goal. You can definitely achieve it. No matter what the circumstances and troubles you face, be tough and go past it.
Something worth mentioning here is the script writing cause the dialogues were really well written. I appreciate every sentence they said as it was needed for the situation and accurately said.


This is the kind of show that will probably get mixed reviews by different viewers. Some may find it little boring whenever Business matter is involved. For those who found this too bland or long. They could just skip through some scenes or there's usually an option for 1.5x or 2x speed ;)


CHARACTERS / ACTING / CASTING –
Wu Lei(Xiao Chuang) — he just stole the show. His way to portray this character was the charm. The scenes when he was still in 'Foshan' were crazy. Every Xiao Chuang moment felt real. No one else could have done this role better.

Neo Hou(Pei Qing Hua) — Not bad. He was playing a nerd or simple obedient man kind of character once again. Some of the emotional scenes were done well by him. No offense, but I cannot convince myself to say that he was irreplaceable here. Maybe someone else could do this role better too…

Mao Xiao Hui(Xie Hang) — She did very well till the end especially all those crying scenes. It's my first time watching her on screen but she's really a good actress. Impressed me already.

Julia Xiang(Tan Yuan) — I think I saw her last in Forever Love. Her acting has improved. Her expressions are much better now & She's still so young (19). This girl has a long way to go…

…Other actors who gathered my attention by their good acting… •Leewei (Lydia) — She has a strong aura and that tall height and gaze makes it even more real.
•Fang Wen Qiang (Man Huan Sheng)
•Molly Wang (Ms Shu) — I am not sure if it was her character demand or what but like she kept chewing something in every scene and her mouth kept moving. I cannot ignore that at all lol.


[ OST time ]
♪ Howling Wind — Neo Hou
♪ Without Holding back — Yu Jia Yun
♪ Merry Go Round — Meng Jie
♪ A Light — Wang Yue Xin
♪ The Burning Era — Yuan Ye ♡♡

I think they were trying to provide that 90s feeling with the music too. So, the music behind songs was like some classical instrument. I don't have much knowledge about music but I liked hearing ♪the Burning Era♪ by Yuan Ye. It sounded youthful.

✿ My favorite character — Tan Yuan ✿

REWATCH VALUE — Not gonna rewatch it ever haha…

CONCLUSION
The kind of drama for 90s and business theme lovers. Business Genre is visible and could be draggy/boring for some people (not for me though).Could be considered a romance drama too. Pretty long but an engaging watch… More of a Youth and Life drama…
And Yes! There's a Season 2 as the drama itself states "That's it for this season". So, there's more to the story…

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WHAT A WASTED POTENTIAL...

Zero communication, dumbest FL, overconfident but foolish BFF, the most cliche-lazily written plot and lots of investment business talks we don't care about — is what we get here for more than "20" episodes.

I mean seriously, what kind of split personality did the FL have here?? She is so confident and mature about her work but where is her maturity in her relationship? Why can't she make her own decisions and follows her stupid BFF blindly instead? (Bff - who is apparently herself a lost case)... FL didn't even hesitate to say those flirty lines in starting but then she's standing like a statue when she needs to apologize!?

nevertheless, the beginning when things yet made sense and there were no unnecessary love rivals and misunderstandings and the ending which was quite a hot mess. damn their chemistry was lit... both parts saved the overall rating but I still won't recommend this as the middle is both messy and frustrating. You might tolerate this happily if you're a big fan of the actors or you were in the mood for a dramatic (brainless) melodrama.

What makes me so upset is that I'm a big fan. both Bai Lu and Dylan Wang are my treasured favorite actors (even my pfp has always been bai lu). And all the anticipation and hype we gave to this drama. Like its such a waste of their talents and our time to watch two kids... The actors did well but the storyline was just too draggy.

For those (like me) who were excited to see Bai Lu and Dylan Wang together, go watch FMVs of this (save some time) or their off screen interaction of variety shows because they're far better or just watch this drama and skip until both your fingers and brain is tired af.

Kudos to the build up in the beginning tho I have to admit I was deeply invested in the so-called "plot" and I cared for these silly childish characters. To the point that I often screamed "say something bitch" xDD. Last 6 episodes were what people expected from this drama but what we got is a boring business drama with stupid leads. And I'm not going to forgive the production for all the frustration they gave me before those last episodes.

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Realistic story of 2 souls who face Acceptance, Honesty and life…

[ STORY ]

The movie starts with a simple scene where Zheng Yuxing(ML) is live on tik tok and Chen Chen (FL) can be seen at the back. They share with everyone that they will be going for a spontaneous trip and following that we went up to a long flashback of 1 hour of how they reached this moment……

As the story forwards, almost all things go predictable but still good enough to keep us engaged till the end… 2 lost souls who have there own issue come together not coincidentally but due to a planned lie of the female protagonist.

What can this movie give you? Changing emotions, how complicated it is for a child to face their parent's separation, how a lonely boy seeks light in the world of electronic music and loving a Girl who is actually very far from him and much more…… Moving on and acceptance is another issue portrayed here….

…Please don't look for logics here cause the movie is full of emotionally taken rash decisions…

[2 worthy statements that I found very realistic and relatable —
★ "When it comes to others, everything seems simple but what if it's about ourselves?"
★ "A lot of times we understand we're childish but we just can't help ourselves."]


[ CAST ]
•Leo Wu (role. Zheng Yuxing)— finally saw him in a more free and soulful role rather than the hugely responsible person. He's young and his personality suits this role also. Looking at the BTS from the making, he enjoyed himself while acting and that shows how he could easily portray this carefree role.

•Wendy Zhang(Chen Chen) — look at her cute face. She was perfect for this role. Playing the lost girl who has the ability but ends up taking rash decisions and faces reality at the end. Wendy did well acting up here as the confused little girl who just turned 18.

•Hao Lei (Chen Chen's mother) — Oops. She had a tough role here. This is the character that had the most no. of mood swings lol. Crying, irritated, angry, tensed, faking smiles she had to do them all. Poor her xD

……Except the crowd in background, there were a total of 7 characters who actually had to say anything in the movie (including main leads). Such a small cast list haha. Well, others weren't needed in the story either. They kept it simple with the cast….


[ MUSIC ]
Music was a major part as it represented the ML's field of interest… then all those club scenes can't be done without music…
Theme songs ~~
♪Upcoming Summer♪ — Mayday
♪Eternal summer♪ — resung by Wendy Zhang & Leo Wu (originally by Mayday)


[ REWATCH VALUE ]
Has a 40% chance of rewatch as it's a movie first so short… but going through the confused relationships again is a trouble for me lol. I can watch it someday just to see Leo Wu again lol


[ CONCLUSION ]
Give it a go if you're looking for a more realistic version of relationships. It's not the usual fairytale fluffy version that's common for high-school romance dramas. It's unique and more of a practical, friend-zoned movie. Acceptance and Being brave to reflect and be honest with yourself is the moral of the story.

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When the drama becomes your reality

Be my princess is a contemporary rom-com starring Jeremy Tsui and Zhou Jie Qiong. Mu Tingzhou is regarded as the best actor in the industry while Ming Wei is a rookie. She gets the chance to act with the best actor in her debut drama but things complicate when Mu Tingzhou gets in an accident.

As Mu Tingzhou was a very dedicated actor, he researches too deeply for his character and gets attached to him, so he ends up remembering only that character's life after the accident. He starts taking himself as the "Grand Tutor" and Ming Wei as the "Princess Wei" in real, as it was in the drama. So this is how the story starts…

My thoughts —

✧ 50% main center is "Amnesia" so how is it? At the starting, it's all nonsensical thing but I still laughed at some points. It's like a trip ~ first its stupid so its funny, next it starts getting draggy and that's where you feel like "Ah! This is too much now" they should have shortened the amnesia's length. the extent of repetition is horrible

✧ The other 50% goes to romance. The main leads were Ming Wei (Zhou Jie Qiong) and Mu Tingzhou (Jeremy Tsui)… I had quite a love-hate relationship with these two characters. Did I felt their chemistry? Yes but No… for this moment I like them but for this part I hate them… I liked their historical parts more…

✧ for acting – Zhou jieqiong is better than my expectations and Jeremy Tsui went downhill this time… or maybe because I just saw him in the Autumn ballad last month where his character was far more better so that good impression of him is clouding my judgement now…

✧ The supporting roles has - Xiao Zhao (Hu Yun Hao) and Ming Qiao (Wu Jia Yi) who add some good comedy and they have their own story going on too which is often more interesting than the main couple. Infact I was loving them until…… they made it all awkward for me. Uff these unnecessary plot twists!

✧ the costumes and the setup. every angle looks so fairytale like, it's all designed to give you princess vibes especially Mu Tingzhou's house, like a royal mansion and this has a very lovely frame overall. They did well with the historical setup also

✧ And rant time… just when will they get tired of adding extra love triangles to the story. God! stop this stuff please!

I would say, this is a very mood dependent drama. If you're in the mood for particularly amnesia related thing or rom-coms with good faces, you will enjoy it. Just a heavy dose of cliche, sugar coated with strange elements. A story that starts with amnesia and ends on romance.

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How much can one's skin, one's face tell you…

Under the Skin is a crime drama that revolves around two main characters Shen Yi (Tan Jian Ci) and Du Cheng (Jin Shi Jia) and how they solve cases together. Shen Yi was an art professor but he joins Criminal investigation Detachment of Beijiang as a forensic artist and helps them with his great observation skills and his professional art skills. Captain Du Cheng bears a grudge against Shen Yi as he once drew a portrait for his undercover friend who later died.

The balanced tension between these two where one carries guilt and the other carries a past grudge was visible right from the beginning but since this combo was tied together by circumstances it was gonna be fun watching how the latter story progresses. Their bond that develops over time and the trust that comes along as they solve mysteries together is the precious part.

Favorite lines from the drama »»»
—"Humans give intriguing expressions when they're alive but once they're dead, their face becomes so dull"
—"Dead men are expressive too. Sometimes it's even reliable than a living person"

A major highlight of the drama are "portraits". If not for this drama, I could've never expected art is this deep and they can actually recover faces with such less hints. I appreciate the amount of art and portraits in this drama. It made things more realistic and reasonable. It's about the details that makes this drama more interesting.

This has a total of 10 cases including 9 cases of the present and 1 case from past 7 years ago which are intriguing, unpredictable and unique. The best part is that their stories will not disappoint you at all.

Acting — Tan Jianci as the invincible portraitist is the perfect actor for this role. His minute expressions everytime he is drawing or sketching is just flawless. The way he acts as if he is observing things looks so real and he is like totally into his character. Jin Shijia is also good acting as the cool leader of the team. Even all those guest actors who acted only for 2-3 episodes when their case was going on were so on point. I was touched by some of their stories and no doubt their acting played an important part.

Okay so overall, I enjoyed the drama totally. I was looking forward to the revelation of all those cases and I liked the stories in them. The acting is perfect and I recommend this thriller mystery drama that has little sprinkles of bromance along.

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Twisted psychological thriller, it's intense!

What we get in this Chun Woo Hee starrer is an engaging, polished story about a child and her mother and all the psychology stuff people can't expect to face.

The relationship between a mother and a daughter, the dream to be always on the top shining through and how far can one go to achieve that inner peace. What I love about the story is it keeps you entangled and you can't guess the end of it. The moment you start believing "okay, so this was like that" it backstabs you right there with a twist. The horror scenes aren't very scary visually unless you were astonished by the sudden scare.

I dare to say this movie is nothing without Chun Woo Hee because this woman's acting is insanely good here. The way she walks and rises her head, can anyone else satisfy us better for an anchor. The insecurities within her role, the craziness, the creepy things and the depth of her struggles, it's all such well portrayed by her. She carries this fine storyline on her shoulders.

Now coming up to why it lost 1 star from the Rating —
• Just felt a little confused at some points, I don't know if it was about that mystery vibe build up or what but there was no energy in Shin Ha Kyun's role, so slow and dull. At one point Chun Woo Hee was so awesome, but the rest of the cast didn't stand out that much.

So if you're looking for something engaging, thrilling with little mix of horror and lots of psychology, unexpected depth of human mind and intense acting by our leading lady Chun Woo Hee, this could be a right choice.

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Cliches & cliches… And I can still smell cliches!

Good Acting but nothing else…


You can go through the sypnosis given in MDL, it's how this story starts… The same repitative Poor FL-Rich ML trope… & that also with a cold arrogant male lead who's actually a big hot-shot CEO as if there's nothing else in the world except him. The CEO offers her a deal (actually tricks her into signing it) and she willingly sells herself off to act as some WIFE.

Things that convinced me to give a lower rating ~
☠ What's new? there's accidental kisses (too many of them), wrist grabs with long pause, constantly looking at each other moments (and me be like "Let's skip 30 sec" the same thing is still going on "Oh no! Let's skip more………" ) and ta-da this is how they fell in love, a bitch yet Beautiful looking 2nd female lead who plans obstacles, then ML saving FL like some superhero, the good 2nd male lead (who will never get the girl **actually sad for him** )… again what's new!?

☠ the villain here or 2nd female lead ~ doesn't gives a damn about her own life, has no self respect & just wants ML anyhow so she keeps pestering him even after he rejects her with insults… she is evil af… I wanted to shout at her. "Girl, wake up. He is married. He jumps around with his wife, praising her & what not. So please open your eyes. Move on. You are pretty, rich & talented. You deserve better." Oh! but she wants to be villain after all…

☠ The 2nd couple which is often like a life saver in a drama didn't stand out much here… like I didn't get half of their story & they were just not acceptable… how did they fall in love, where is the passion coming from…
☠ again, female lead is too helpless. Either male lead or second male lead backs her up for every development…
☠ They talk about fashion here & there but there's actually not much variety in clothing visible… actors had been repeating clothes constantly…

☠ Male lead is a stalker. Like let her be independent please…
☠ Female lead was taking advantage of SML till the end… like Girl he confessed to you already yet you keep talking to him as if nothing happened and even accepting extra helps from him…

Things that saved the drama some rating ~
☘ Sichen's mom
☘ The acting by Wang Zi Qi, Ian Yi, Zhong li li and others…
☘ Even though there were loopholes with the story yet the chemistry between Main leads felt real in some scenes… I guess it's their acting…
☘ Second male lead… not evil or selfish… he was ready to become just a friend & silently help her … I really pity him… T_T
☘ Fei'ang (Sichen's Assistant)


[ CAST ]

✦ Yin Sichen ( played by Wang Zi Qi ) — what a drastic change from Prince An/Xiao Jinyu in imperial coroner to Yin Sichen here. He looks good with modern outfits lol. But this alone was not good enough to carry out this drama. He was also good at making that wicked side smile lol… Nevertheless, I think he tried his best on the acting part.
✦ Gu Xixi ( played by Uvin Wang ) — Not having much to say about her. I think the way her role is… she didn't stand out much in the drama. She didn't impress me or disappoint me.

✦ Ran Xiwei ( Zhong Li li ) — Her outfits were on another level. I would like to have some of them in my wardrobe ;)…… well She acts nicely. Infact, great. After all, it's never easy to act an annoying character…
✦ Mo Zixian ( Ian Yi ) — I hope they gave him a different suit lol. He was literally repeating the same suit in the whole drama. He had a good role here & his acting compliments it. I wish to see him in a lead role someday…

✦ Mu Ruona ( Yang Yue ) …&… ✦ Shang Ke ( Li Jun Chen) form the 2nd lead couple here. They tried to form a decent story yet it wasn't interesting for me at all. I don't know it's the concept or the acting but it just felt weird between them and I can't help but skip their already less scenes…

[ MUSIC ]

❥♪I really like u♪ — Clairo Guo
❥♪Because of love♪ — Dou Zhiwen ~ it's the ending theme
❥♪Identify♪ — Zhao Wei Er ~ it's the opening theme.
❥♪Love is coming♪ — Zhao Bei Er
Tbh, I didn't liked any out of these…

[ REWATCH VALUE ]

Nah… has zero chances of rewatch cause there was nothing new or special. If you've watched other Contact-marriage or Fake relationship kind of C-dramas, you must have watched the same trope with different faces…

[ OVERALL ]

Give it a go if you're too bored or wanna watch cliches. It has all kinds of repitative cliches. A cheesy Romance drama including a bickering turned over-sweet couple and nothing else… a watchable drama for fluff lovers too… & I am warning you already, don't look forward to logics here lol

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When food is their love language

Every ep made me wonder why is watching a couple talking, cooking and just eating together so wholesome to watch. Like for 33 long episodes? with "no real plot". This is exactly the reason we liked it.

I still request everybody to not watch this drama at midnight with no food in your fridge, becoz you'll be dead-ass hungry and no Mo Qingcheng is coming to cook for you. Damn the way all they did was cook, eat, sing, kiss, cook, eat and EAT again xD.

Love me, love my voice is an all cute fluffy drama with your typical shy FL and perfect ML (that you can't help but fall for). Like how was this boy dubbing for popular dramas, a cardiac surgeon, an amazing cook (he even knew origin and history of those dishes), patient enough to let her get adapted to him... and we actually got no bitchy SFL, no love triangle, an all healthy relationship instead with all these green flag supporting characters... Are you kidding me? This is so unrealistic hahaha but gotta agree we love some simplistic romances like this once in a while.


Their romance was sort of slow burn in the beginning which might have tested some people's patience (was okay to me), otherwise you always got that skip button ;)... Zhou Ye also acted satisfactory for the shy, cute FL and gladly did not cross that cringe level. But opinions might differ a lot for these two things.


They actually had several routes to spice up and add drama like the ML is almost a celebrity meanwhile FL is still a newbie in the field but its quite nice that they sticked to this easy-going path. They didn't fail in serving this concept to us in the right way at least.

Coming to Tan Jianci's sexy voice now *coughs* I mean his dubbing and OSTs... Playing the role of a dubbing actor, TCJ himself dubbed all his scenes and sang his songs too (what a blessing for us). From the stunning OST list, I loved these the most! —

• 与君归 (Return With You) - by Tan Jianci and Bu Cai
• 万骨催沙 (Ten Thousand Bones Push Sand) - by Tan Jianci
(This guy is going places, like his acting, charisma as of getting into a character and even voice... Very talented indeed)

• 盛世之疆 (Realm of Prosperity) - by Xian Zi, Li Chang chao, HITA, Xiao'ai Dema, Alex, Lie Tian ....( in every drama there's a song which is just my type of song, this is it )


• 青梅引 (Wintersweet) - by Le Xiaotao (calm, dreamy, so pleasant, love it)
• Slowly - by yihuik (this was the theme song for the main cp and damnnn why is her voice that sweet)


So overall Love me, love my voice is a lovable, sweet drama with all positivity and feel good vibes... And if you're looking for something similar to Hidden Love or Forever and Ever, this is the one for you.

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Way too rushed or this would've been better

I was casually checking up for Ding Yuxi's upcoming works on his MDL profile page and came across this movie… the synopsis sounded interesting so I thought of checking it out… but wait what a blunder!

Having read the synopsis I knew this was gonna be a bit of rollercoaster and sad stuff… and it literally went like that… the plot moves with the speed of light, almost 3×10^8 m/s … that's the biggest complain I have here… they don't give you any time to adjust with the changes or understand the characters… the twist are like this, one thing happened, next this happens, then that and that…

the movie is 1 hour 44 minutes long, I wish it was at least 2.5 or 3 hours long… I won't mind the length but the story will be delivered better in that way.

Then they didn't even care to explain us the medical terms and elaborate us about the twists… I see they're crying but give me a reason to cry along with them… Tbh, the story isn't very bad as it seems, the only issue is the execution only if they showed us some basic character build up or some scenes related before verbally saying all the twists…

despite that some small scenes in between with the main leads that are barely of 1-2 minutes each are cute… as a cute pair they look great together but what a waste that the execution sucked… the only thing I am satisfied with is acting… I really hope the same leads work together for a better script… they deserve better…

from the OST lineup… I liked —
♪Accompany you♪ (sang by Yu Jiayun)
♪Ten years of smoke♪ (sang by Tang Hanxiao).

All in all, I don't recommend this to anyone. If you haven't watched any works of the cast before, please refer to their other works before cause this isn't the choice for a first impression.

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The best duo and the best chemistry

How I thought this would be another mediocre drama but I really enjoyed this.

Our female lead, Qin Yan… she really never gives up. my main reason to love this character is her spirit of never giving up and her tricks. I love how witty she is and the fact that her self confidence comes from all those books that she has read is something even better to see in a historical drama.

Qin Yan does gets help from the male lead very often but she still stands out differently because of her never-ending persistence. she believes men and women are equal and bravely fights for herself.

And what will happen when this witty girl meets someone wittier. Liang Yi is the powerful, rich and perfect typical male lead who is also cold but he is very righteous in heart. the way his aloof face brightens up with a smile in the later half is just the best part. I like how supporting he becomes and goes to great lengths just to protect her. Liang Yi is already my favorite character of the year.

It's so fun to see both of these bickering over and tricking each other until they fall for each other and together fight the wrong.

Acting — it's like cherry on the top. All those expressions, from Qiao Xin smiling mischievously like that after every plan to Jeremy Tsui being the combo of cold + caring. they really compliment their characters so well.

OSTs —
✼ Beautiful words to say – by Xu Wei
✼ Yi Jue – by Luan Yi Ze
✼ Wish – by Feng Jiaqi (Queena)
The songs were all so sweet and pleasant to ears.

Favorite dialogues —
✧ how nice it would be if we're this wisp of smoke and we can go anywhere we like with the wind
✧ Even if it's just a wisp of smoke it will go straight to the blue sky… we'll get options as long as we don't give up
✧ We're ordinary people. Ordinary people are not perfect.

To conclude, of course like any other drama, this must have it's own flaws but the essence of this drama is that it has the right amount of everything you can add and the viewers do not get bored. I enjoyed watching it and would definitely recommend "The Autumn Ballad."

✿ ~ will talk about how this drama lost it's one star in the comments section under spoiler tag…

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I Love the Sea & I Love the Show

In a variety show, what are you usually looking for? Your favorite actors/idols as members & their interactions or a good combination between sense of humor & the soul theme? I started this show looking for both of these. I wanted to watch a few of my favorites (Kim go Eun, Lee Dong Wook, Onew) together & along the way I was looking for more about sea & nature. There's no adventure here. The nature, the sea, the vacay vibes & relaxation is all you get from the Show. This show deserves some Cinematography Award or something like that, I know it's the sea & sky that's so beautiful but they were shot from the perfect angle. Although the weather was not with them like rain disturbed their plans but it still went on quite smoothly.


Concept —
I don't feel like writing any much detail here or I will just end up revealing the Show to you. Just Ep 1 and the show straights up to the corner of the sea where they will stay & shoot further. The scenery is like Oooo & Oooh! The soul of the show the SEA rules the camera like an Eternal Queen. The view is so magical & attractive that it made me fell in love with the sea. The perfect combination of blue & white colour, the different shades of them, the greenery around with the perfect music. What else more do we need!

In the beginning, interaction among the members was rather strange & awkward. Jong shin, being the eldest one among them often said that "it's awkward" but he took the responsibility to make them more close & comfortable. Ultimately, they started getting along with each other & that's when there was more laughs and fun. Whole this, felt like character development lol. Towards the end, they are even reluctant to say goodbye. Some people may get bored, as the show is slow in middle and there's lots of cooking and general conversation that may take off the interest and the long duration is there too but nevertheless I enjoyed the show.

One thing I cannot forgot to mention, KIM GO EUN IS SO BEAUTIFUL. YEAH, SHE TRULY IS! I like how she often closes her eyes quickly as if she's winking with 2 eyes with a smile. She looked so cute. She went diving with a team in some episodes to collect garbage from the sea. That's a really good step that deserves appreciation. She carried that 35 kg heavy equipment into the sea everytime. Wow she's so strong.

Cast —
All the members are beautiful in their own way. Su hyun is something I should mention, she's the youngest and cutest one among them but she's taking care of everything. If you notice properly there's always a line at the top whenever she goes to help someone "In conclusion, nothing gets done without Su-hyun 22 (Count of how many times she helped)" lol.


Music —
It's impossible to list all the songs played in the show xD… Su hyun has got a soulful voice. Her voice is so magical & mixes with the vacay vibes of Show. Onew & Yoon Jong-shin are also awesome singers. I think this show focuses a lot on relaxation theme. So, particularly songs are usually smooth & those peaceful kind that just gives more of a connected to nature feeling. A special round of applause to 2 members who played instruments for all those Song performances ·–·•• Zai. Ro & Jeong Dong Hwan. I almost got crazy, listing all songs played over there & then looking for them one by one, then turning to their lyrics & then saving them in a playlist again & again.

Performances that I loved from the Show »»»»
✓Rollin – Su Hyun & Zai. Ru [Og. Brave Girls]
✓Flying Deep in the Night – Su Hyun, Onew [Og. Lee Moon Sae]
✓Departure – Onew, Jong-shin [Og. Hareem]
✓Wind, Where does it blow from? – Onew [Og. Kim Yeon Woo]
✓A Doll's Dream – Su Hyun, Onew [Og. Weather forecast]
✓Lucky – Rosé, Onew [Og. Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat]. This song especially suits Onew. He sang so Perfect!
✓If – Su hyun [Og. Bread] Oooh Her Voice
✓Time walking on memories — Rosé [Og. Nell]
✓Stay Put – Sunwoo Jung-a [Og. Sunwoo]
✓City of Stars – Su hyun, Lee Dong Wook [Og. Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone]… Yesss! LDW finally sang!
✓I'm in love – Onew [Og. Ra. D]

A single line to define Music here — Music is like the 2nd soul of the show.


Rewatch Value —
Well I don't think, variety Ssows hold any much Rewatch Value. They are usually suitable as a single watch. It could be possible for some people to rewatch it years later but for Me, variety shows completely falls in one-time watch category.


Conclusion —
Since there's no format to be followed or no draggy Story, The show is definitely a good choice. it's like a relaxing show where they sing, chat, cook & enjoy by the Sea. My #ScenicSaturdays were all ruled by screenshots from this show only.

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A story full of love-hate and a never ending mess

I love Republican Era settings and this even has Jing Tian, only the sight of Jing Tian dressed up in that style was enough to get me on for this.

Talking about the plot, the overall conspiracy stuff is a mixture. Their is a revenge story going on but they also want to show the viewers about Opium consumption and it's ill effects on health and life… All the ways to trick each other are mainly related to Business stuff. So maybe some people could get bored of it, though that's a genre I enjoy… Their are many complicated family feuds (trust me MANY)… they show us struggles for freedom and dreams too. The plot twists are really strange but unpredictable too. It's quite fun to watch but not too much intriguing for your brain either.

The deeds of the main villain is a total MESS. Once I got attached to the characters and started understanding the story… what was waiting for me next door was hate, anger and frustration. Many things annoy you to death here but the story will be left with nothing without them. Anyone looking for light weight fluffy stuff, just run away. This ain't for you.

I realized the cinematography is good and those Qipao dresses, the wavy silky hairstyles keeps us reminding of that era. The visuals are definitely a very big advantage here especially because it's a long 40 episode drama so there has to be something on screen that people can focus on. Of course, in addition to this setting, Jing Tian and Xu Weizhou are the best eye candies to stare at.

Jing Tian ( as Feng Shizhen ) — Feng Shizhen is strong and smart and she knows what she's doing. Jing Tian carries out this role very gracefully. From spying secretly with the gentle look of a governess (teacher) to expressing her emotions at the right moment. I was so hooked up to her character and totally rooting for her from the beginning.

Xu Weizhou ( as Rong Jiashang ) — he is the young master of the Rong family. Jiashang is an arrogant boy and was trained in the military academy from a small age. He is capable but pretty reckless too. He seemed like a puppy in love who wants to do so much but he needs to grow big first xD. I really pitied him all the way.

It's kinda funny how Jiashang's favorite sentence in the whole drama was "please give me some more time". He said this so many times that I couldn't even count it now. He reminds me that most of the scenes between him and Shizhen were repetitive. Though I agree they had their chemistry to carry it on.

Jing Chao ( as Meng Xu An ) — he is super cunning. In the beginning he maintained a cool gesture and a strong aura around him. But his character changes a lot throughout the drama.

{ My issues with the drama…}
—•• The biggest problem here is its pacing. The drama just gets super slow that you feel like the energy is missing. No matter how the plot goes, I literally felt the urge to speed it up like 2x or 3x many times… and every incident is so connected to each other that you can't even skip anything.
—•• I have another problem with the plot which is a spoiler so in the comments section.

The songs were fit for the occasion but didn't sound so special to go to my OST playlist.

✧ Favorite dialogue — "You have to live on, to see hope and a favourable turn" ✧

As to conclude, I am quite satisfied with this drama as all I was expecting here was a good revenge story and a strong female lead, which I got… So this turned out to be a good one time watch.

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