when i first heard of this show i was extremely skeptical- okay girlboss and a boss-employee relationship w a 12 year age gap ??? there's no fucking way they can make this work in a way that is also healthy, appropriate and doesn't cross boundaries, it's impossible................... and then i watched it....

it proved me wrong.... SOOOO wrong. to be fair i also was hot off the heels of watching 'use for my talent' which was basically just constant workplace sexual harassment and abuse and was unbearable. i have some level of just turning my brain off and being able to watch toxic stupid shit in dramas if some other factor is making me continue (shen yue is just tooooo cute) but it was truly impossible to watch after a certain point. so i just didn't believe that any c-drama could make it work....

BUT RATIONAL LIFE!!!! DID IT!!!!! their relationship really feels like it does and can work by the end, and they treat each other with such respect and care and learn together. the show honestly in general is just really lovely in tone- able to show real life issues and genuine conflicts without feeling like cheap dramatics or feeling too 'dark and gritty reality.' instead the tone is able to keep this lightness and positivity that's rooted in the reality of the show. serious issues are treated with severity, but it never drags you down, the slice of life aspect also never really gets boring, and is still engaging. Conflicts never feel senseless, like you understand where everyone is coming from, and how all people are affected by patriarchy and societal pressure, even when there is a right and wrong. the villains are treated sympathetically, but aren't forgiven and are rightfully punished. but there's no gleeful vengeance either and just feels a little sad, like the realities of life and the cost of their actions. it really feels like the writers really care about talking about these issues and creating a really positive impact.

i really loved the way they talk about modern issues, especially on what women face in the workplace. they have an extremely clear stance and message against misogyny and yet even though ruoxin is technically a girlboss, there's no lame over the top girl boss WINS!!! type of tasteless vibe that you often get in many other shows, especially US ones, which ends up just feeling like cheap pandering to be relevant. it's never shown as the greatest achievement, ruoxin isn't incredible because she's a boss and a girl, but because of her skills and abilities- we admire her the most when she's problem solving and getting herself out of sticky situations with so much finesse. she starts the show incredibly ambitious and seemingly cold and rational, fully fixated on work, but is also clearly depressed and lonely and living unhealthily. throughout the show her actions are based in surviving in the company, not mindlessly valuing career achievement. full dedication to work is shown as a clear flaw, and they do such a wonderful job showing us her learning slowly and naturally throughout the series. in the end she does attain the highest position at their branch, and obvi in universe it's her moving up in her career, but NArratively, the writers are rewarding her with a high position and career achievement not BECAUSE of her being hard working, but because she learned balance! how to appreciate her life fully and enjoy it outside of work!!!!!!! it's a reward that feels earned because she finally took the right steps to be happy!!!

and the relationship!!! is so good!! so sweet!! it's super super slow burn which is the only way to do a big age gap boss employee relationship imo. they spend most of the show as a very proper and healthy boss-employee relationship. she's a really good boss who never acts inappropriately towards him and respects him fully. while he gets a crush on her pretty early, their feelings develop and deepen slowly over time, from being together everyday, understanding each other, admiring each other, making it through all their obstacles together as a team, and just making each other happy!! while the very clear boss/employee, mentor/mentee dynamic is still in effect for most of the show, it's only at the very end that it develops to a point where the romance feels clear and real- the time this takes is necessary! it really comes in the form of qi xiao taking care of her, teaching her to take care of herself and about what really matters in life, which is so necessary in making the relationship feel like that amongst equals. and then as soon as they get together he resigns and they end their boss employee relationship to be partners.... i know the bar is low but thank GOD for this show. and then after they get together i really liked them working through their issues together too, there's not much time, maybe about 10 episodes of this? but it's still nice that the show was able to at least introduce some conflicts they would have based on their age gap, former power imbalance, and both their personalities, as well as how they would work through it together. truly it shows how far they've come when we see her taking a day off work to be his assistant at the end..... that got me so bad.....

ok onto all the side plots!! i love how they dealt with ruoxin and xu zong's relationship a lot actually! it's so good to see them fully show us that her young and attractive boss pulling all the typical things in dramas (buying her fancy things, manipulating and lying to her to get her to go on dates, etc) was clearly inappropriate and wrong- when this is the norm and considered super romantic in other shows. and yet xu zong also wasn't shown to be some evil monster either, and could still be a good boss outside of those actions. i like seeing that a 'good' man who can respect ruoxin and values her first and foremost as his right hand, can still cross boundaries and be in the wrong. they end the show with a healthy boss-employee relationship and maintained really clear boundaries, which i really appreciate and enjoyed seeing.

i really loved ziyan and zou cheng's storyline too, it's rare to see a show give us such deep issues that feel fully unresolvable, as in they are different people who want different things in life, and yet still show us that they were both able to learn while they were separated, and come back together. ziyan's full journey was such a joy to see! i really enjoyed su yang's storyline too, especially since i'm also an illustrator and they got his struggles down SO accurately. i like what they used his character to say a lot, but i also found him unbearable at times because i hate his attitude and how much work you sijia had to constantly put into their relationship, when he rarely did anything at all for her! i truly could not understand why she would like him at all.... makes no sense.... my only real critique of the show is their relationship. i also don't love how things with ruoxin's mom are resolved in terms of ruoxin learning how much she sacrificed and then being willing to try more. i wish her mom was already a much better mom than how she was in the beginning at that point. tbh god bless qi xiao's mom basically single handedly making ruoxin's mom change for the better.

all in all, this is my perfect comfort show and i highly recommend it! engaging and real, yet still hopeful and positive, with so much love and kindness between the characters, and real care given by the writers. modern dramas aren't my thing and i've seen like, 10, but this is 10000% the best one that i've seen.