Slice of life, cooking & some romance

This drama is about the female lead, who pines over the male lead, who is hung up on his ex and needs therapy. The support cast tries to get with the leads even though they have zero chance. The side couple marries after one night stand. Oh and there is lots of cool cooking. Okay, okay I’m just trying to be funny here (but it’s lowkey true). Let me tell you the actual plot. The male lead owns a food platform but refuses to learn how to cook so he hires a double for his cooking shots. After being caught lying, he hires the female lead (who also works at his company) to teach him how to cook.

The main lead is a hot, red flag. Workaholic, toxic boss that appears to be arrogant and prideful but secretly is kind and lonely. He carries a lot of past trauma and emotional baggage. The female lead is down to earth and a total cinnamon roll. Mature yet gentle. Kind but not a pushover. Hard-working but not materialistic.

POSITIVE:
- Viki live chat. Yep, the drama was 100x more enjoyable because I watched it while reading the hilarious live chat. Users on Viki not only roasted the drama but each other too. If you decide to watch this drama, definitely do it on Viki, the subs there are great too compared to Youtube.
- Awesome cooking shots.
- Cute romance (for the most part).
- Great mother-daughter relationship.
- Mature dialogue.
- Nice OST.
- Nice chemistry between the leads.
- First half of the drama has wholesome vibes.
- Relatable female lead.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead is heavily hung up on his ex for the first half of the drama.
- Unnecessary and illogical situation at episode 13 that might ruin the drama for some people. The remaining 3 episodes were too melodramatic and draggy so I skipped a lot.
- Kind of slow paced especially as each episode was more than 1h 15 min compared to the typical 40 min.
- Second male lead had me conflicted. Sometimes he was such a sweet green flag, other times he was the most obsessive and annoying towards the female lead. I feel the way his character was written could have been better especially as he got tons of screen time. In the first episodes he kept putting a toothpick in his mouth which I didn’t like. Then the director gave him a glow up that was actually a glow down.
- Annoying side character (girl) who acted like a 3 year old and her voice was non-stop quacking like a rubber duck (and mind you I rarely find characters annoying).

OVERALL:
This drama starts off great but loses its charm half-way through. I have mixed feelings, some parts are great, other parts not so much. The drama sometimes felt very wholesome and sweet but other times too melodramatic, sometimes mature but other times too silly. In the end, I felt that it wasn’t what I expected (the poster misled me to believe it was a fluffy rom-com). But I suppose if you want a slice of life with lots of cooking and some romance on the side, check this out.

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Healthy romance + online games and aerospace

This drama is about the love story between an actress and an aerospace engineer. The female lead is endorsing a mobile game but is caught by netizens for being a bad player. To redeem her image, she has to play at a live event and prove to everyone her skills. Online, she stumbles upon her high-school crush (who rejected her) a.k.a. the male lead. He happens to be an expert at the game so she hires him to help her. Meanwhile the male lead is facing his own dilemma in life, whether to quit his dream job and find a more stable one.

I didn’t have much expectations going into this drama, just thought it would be a nice before-bed watch. The first half was amazing and actually kept me awake at night. The gaming felt very nostalgic as it reminded me of my teen years when I was a hard-core gamer. However the second half was ok/a bit boring. I needed more of their dating/together era… something was kind of missing to make my heart flutter.

POSITIVE:
- Mature and authentic dialogue.
- High production cinematography. You can tell they spent money for the game and space shots.
- Nice intimate/kiss scenes. I loved that the male lead would always pull/grab her unexpectedly towards him.
- No love triangles, very clean romance, the exes show up and leave very swiftly and fast.
- No misunderstandings, no toxic stuff, no families against the relationship. It didn’t follow the cliche route which was nice.
- The game's visuals look amazing and if you are a MMORPG game lover, you will appreciate them.
- Cute romance but also a big focus on career.
- Easy and relaxing watch. Only 30 min per ep.
- Yang Yang is hot and Dilraba looks great.

NEGATIVE:
- Aerospace talks. I didn’t understand anything but at least visually it looked nice. Some episodes were very focused on that topic a bit too much for my taste so I had to ff/skip.
- Okish/boring second half. I needed more of their dating/together era… something was kind of missing to make my heart flutter.
- Side couple. They didn’t have much screen time but what I saw was very boring and pretty much a ff/skip.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a healthy, cute romance and don't mind the focus on gaming and aerospace, you will enjoy this drama. It’s a very easy and relaxing watch for the evenings.

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Youthful and romantic xianxia with a fox male lead

This drama is about the female lead that accidentally absorbs the soul fruit of a male fox. In order to get this soul back, the male lead needs to make her fall in love with him. Amidst their love story, the plot revolves around the humans seeing the foxes as evil and the female lead’s secret origin.

In short, the drama started great for me and I was enjoying it a lot. I found the many romantic scenes between the leads super adorable. The tone felt light-hearted and totally relaxing to watch. However the second half started to feel draggy and towards the end I found myself ff/skipping scenes. The ending is unfortunately the most stupid and illogical I’ve EVER seen and my rating significantly reduced because of it.

POSITIVE:
- Youthful romance as the main focus of the drama.
- Many cute and sweet moments between the leads. Their chemistry is great.
- Fairy good CGI for a drama like this (clearly not a high budget).
- Adorable and funny second couple.

NEGATIVE:
- Not a groundbreaking plot. It’s enjoyable for the most part but it didn’t wow me.
- Second half of the drama felt quite boring compared to the first.
- The ending! I’m very accepting of different endings and can always find a reason behind it even if I don’t like it. But this ending is the most stupid and illogical I’ve ever seen. There is a special alternative episode that makes it a little better but it’s still somewhat illogical. The writers really ruined the drama at the end for me.
- Bad subtitles (typical Mangotv style) but if you’ve seen a lot of xianxia, you will understand what’s happening.

OVERALL:
If you want a sweet and youthful xianxia with romance as the main focus, and don’t mind a stupid ending as long as there is a special alternative episode that sort of makes up for it, watch this drama.

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Sweet and mature love story of the main leads. The rest is skippable.

This drama focuses on two love stories. The first one is about a responsible girl boss with a soft side (the female lead) who finds out her fiancé has cheated. She spends a drunken night with a seemingly unbothered musician with a flirty side (the male lead), who turns out to be her new co-worker. The second one is about a soft and sweet artist (the female lead’s younger brother) who falls in love with his sister’s older best friend.

The best (and only) thing about this drama is the main lead’s love story. It’s mature, somewhat realistic, a mix of romance, emotional with funny moments. Most of their romantic moments happen at night (hence the title) and the night cinematography truly enhances their scenes. I truly loved their story, both go through challenges and especially the female lead has a great self-love arc.

The rest of the drama however is a total let down. After episode 10 I pretty much ff/skipped everything except the main lead’s scenes. The second couple is plain and boring, in fact their story feels very separated from the main leads and not connected to the night theme of the drama. There is also a third couple that is annoying and a total filler. We also have typical workplace conflicts that are boring and seriously feel like fillers too.

POSITIVE:
- Mature and responsible main leads.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Beautiful cinematography (especially all the romantic moments between the leads that are shot at night). It truly lives up to the title “Love at Night”.
- Many beautiful rain/umbrella scenes.
- Shirtless scenes with the male lead.
- Male chases female trope.
- Rom-com feel but with a more mature and serious tone.
- Female lead has the most stunning outfits.
- Not a typical love triangle. There is a cheating ex fiancee that tries to get back with the female lead. He didn’t bother me at all as he served as a great plot device and character development for the female lead. In fact their story felt very realistic and great lessons for many women around the world. He was cunning, manipulative and truly despicable which made the plot interesting for me.

NEGATIVE:
- Boring workplace setting. We have the typical work conflicts that are only there so the characters do something.
- Equal (if not more) screen time given to the second couple. Their love story is odd and boring.
- Annoying and filler scenes of the third couple that didn’t need to exist.
- The only likeable/interesting characters are the two main leads.

OVERALL:
This drama could have been 10 stars if it was shorter and only focused on the love story between the main leads. I’d only recommend it if you love the main leads and want a sweet and mature love story with them (and are willing to ff/skip the rest).

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Initially dropping this at episode 5 was a mistake

The simplest way that I can describe this drama is that it tells the story of a bunch of young martial artists and their adventures together. There are two main characters that the story revolves around. A Prince who has been reduced to a commoner with crippled martial arts and a brave and youthful martial artist that seeks to improve his skills.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Absolutely amazing and well-developed characters. All and I mean all characters are freaking awesome.
- Aesthetically pleasing and well done fight scenes.
- Engaging plot and the way it's edited makes it exciting to follow the story.
- Beautiful scenery, costumes, wigs. Aesthetics are on point.
- A great ending scene.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I initially dropped this drama at episode 5 because I couldn't understand 90% of what was happening.I didn’t like that there was way too much information being thrown at you. The first 10 episodes are non-stop info dumping with many, many characters to remember, many sect names and backstories. It's very overwhelming and you definitely need a lot of bran power to watch this. It's not a suitable watch if you are tired and want to relax by watching a drama. It's definitely difficult to binge-watch BUT very rewarding to rewatch. Having said all that, once you get used to all the characters and plot, it’s super rewarding to watch this.
- The last 7-8 episodes were somewhat draggy as it became quite politically focused.

OVERALL:
If you want to watch a drama with great fight scenes, well-developed characters, adventure and friendships vibes + you are ok with following a drama with lots of characters, names and backstories to remember, definitely give this a watch.

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Unique story. Mature themed. Slow paced. Stunning performances.

Lost You Forever season 1 tells the story of the FL who believes she has been abandoned by her family. She lives in a small town as a man and heals people with her medicine while hiding her real identity. Her peaceful life is turned upside down as she meets three men. The first man, she rescues and helps him heal his injuries that have been inflicted after years of torture. The second man she accidentally meets, he blackmails her into giving him medicine otherwise he threatens to kill her. The third one, is her long lost cousin that's been searching for her for a very long time. The first 16 episodes introduce all the characters, the world and the backstories. Afterwards the FL decides to reveal her identity and join her cousin in claiming the King's throne.

POSITIVE:
- The cinematography is top-notch.
- All the fantasy places are stunning, the costumes are beautiful, the CGI animals look very real.
- Magical fight scenes look impressive.
- Acting is fantastic from all the actors.
- All characters felt real and three dimensional.
- Realistic make-up and bruises. We have characters that are shown to be tortured and their look is very, very realistic.
- Unique story with a realistic and mature feel to it.

NEGATIVE:
- Only one negative but it's quite a big one for me. The pacing is very, very slow for my taste. The drama likes to show a lot of details in each scene, characters talking slowly so something simple like a dinner can be a very, very long scene, a lot of slow motion scenes etc which makes the drama feel draggy and boring at times.

CHARACTERS (MINOR SPOILERS):
The story has a reverse-harem trope so you have one FL and four male love interests. Her relationship with each of the four males is very different. Having said that, the drama clearly shows that FL only likes romantically two guys and early on decides to choose only one of them.
- FL is Xiao Yao, without revealing her identity, I'll only say that abandonment and loneliness are the main themes that the FL is struggling with from the start till the end of season 1.
- ML 1 is Cang Xuan, FL's cousin (not blood related). He is a prince and his story is the centrepiece of the dramas as he fights his way to become a King. He is ruthless, calculating and secretly in love with the FL.
- ML 2 is Tushan Jing, FL's chosen lover. He comes from one of the richest clans and has big obligations to his father. He is soft-hearted, kind, artistic and devotedly in love with the FL.
- ML 3 is Xiang Liu, FL's enemy. He is a general and loyal to the man who's saved his life... who also happens to be FL's enemy. At first he is very cruel and abusive to FL but later becomes her silent protector, secretly loving her.
- ML4 is Chishui Feng Long, He is Cang Xuan's closest friend and helper. He comes in later in the story. He likes the FL (mostly because of her status but doesn't love her).

OVERALL:
The first 16 episodes were very slow for me as they introduced all the characters and world. Afterwards I definitely became more invested in the story and some episodes were good others just ok. Last 10 episodes were definitely the best and the season wrapped up very well with no annoying cliffhangers. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2 and seeing how the story will unfold.

If you want a unique, mature, slow paced story with multiple love interests, great acting and beautiful visuals - this drama is for you.

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Second male lead stole the show. The rest is too much filler and repetition.

There is much praise about this drama and it did not quite deliver for me. I loved the cinematography, visual effects, the acting was top notch but the actual story fell flat for me. It started off well and even though it had interesting premises I wasn't captivated by the plot. Too much filler and too many characters doing exactly the same thing again and again and again. Too many convenient plot devices and people doing things only to move forward the plot. Oh and by the end of the drama, almost all the characters had (without spoiling) the same type of trauma. It just felt like lazy writing.

My main issue with the drama was that as much as heartbreaking the romance is for the main leads, I never connected with them. It was actually very instant love for me considering one of them couldn't even feel love. And romance is my main focus when watching dramas. In fact I was so invested in the second male lead story that by episode 35 I was happy if they dropped the romance and it was only about his journey. He was actually what saved the show and made me finish it. In fact around episode 50 I found myself skipping lots of scenes because I just wanted to finish it.

Second male lead stole the show for me. His story was so well done. His character development is so well done. The main male lead is an excellent actor but unfortunately I found after the first half of the drama his personality was reduced to "being in love with the female lead" and "occasionally a cool warrior". It's like the whole purpose for him being in the drama was to be the love puppy of the female lead. There is so much more it could have been done in terms of writing.

Overall I feel it's a good drama but not for me. Too much focus was put on the love triangle which wasn't even a love triangle. I didn't like the ending of the second male lead and how they turned his character so probably that's why I wasn't happy with this drama. But I did enjoy lots of moments and definitely cried a lot. The drama moved me emotionally, especially the second male lead story which was worth watching.

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Travelling, culture, food + hot geges

I started this for Chen Zhe Yuan & Ryan Cheng but the travelling, culture and food exploration was such an extra treat that I truly loved. The variety show is about six celebrities/actors who are divided into two teams and travel to different places in China in order to explore the culture, heritage and sightseeings. Every two episodes are dedicated to a city, and in the second episode of each one, the two groups do presentations about their experience. There are also extra episodes in between, with fun activities/talks as additional footage.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
- Travelling to different parts of China (see the locations below), culture, heritage, food, sightseeings exploration, you really get everything. I feel like this variety show is great in promoting China’s tourism to less known places for young chinese people as much as foreigners like me who love chinese cdramas.

- Hot Geges and learning more about them. I loved that I got to see the actors as normal and awkward human beings. I learned more about the personality, emotional struggles and past experiences of everyone, especially Chen Zhe Yuan, Ryan Cheng and Xu Kai. Che Zhe Yuan being a goofball was hilarious while Ryan Cheng was unexpectedly being shy and less talkative at first.

- Great development. Each episode got better and better. The group starts kind of timid and you see as they spend more time together, how everyone opens up more and becomes comfortable with each other. In the end, I felt like they had created a great bond between each other through this travelling experience.

- Guest appearances, which was a great addition to the show, especially Xu Kai.

- Interesting presentations that got more creative with each travel city, although sometimes it felt like a repetition of what we’ve already seen.

- Funny on-screen animations that enhanced the watch experience.

- Princess/diva vibes. Ok that’s a very personal opinion but at the beginning I didn’t like at all the attitude of the female actress. I didn’t really know her before this but she left a bad impression on me as during a challenge, she criticised some of the guys in the group saying none of them had famous scenes for her to impersonate. It was very awkward and one of the guys even called her out on it. She was also very obsessed about looking good in front of the camera to the point of refusing to do some of the travel experiences (as it would ruin her makeup) and she insisted on sitting on the left side of the car because it's her good profile. However, her attitude towards the later episodes did get better.


TRAVEL LOCATIONS PER EPISODE:

Ep 0
Pilot episode. The group assembles and gets ready to travel.

Ep 1-2 Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
A good start. Tame vibes. The group is getting to know each other and not as close yet. The presentations are just ok. Lots of fun activities and relaxations are shown.

Ep 3-4 Zhangzhou, Fujian
Favourite episodes so far, and the presentations were super entertaining to watch. Lots about seafood, fishing etc

Ep 5-6 Changsha, Hunan
Loved these episodes, filled with music and singing. The concert was a fantastic addition to the travel guide.

Ep 7-8 Zhongwei, Ningxia (Xu Kai as special guest)
This trip starts at the end of ep 6. Desert vibes. The most human and deep episode. We truly see who the actors are as people, their fears and hidden pains. Adventure and self-reflection. The final part of ep 7 brought me to tears.

Ep 9-10 Chengdu, Western Sichuan
Cute episode with Pandas but too much talking and not enough sightseeings.

Ep 11 Kangba Altay
Grassland games, super fun to watch with beautiful scenery. I’m not familiar with Tibetan culture but it reminded me of The Long Ballad drama. Really cool photography and challenge. This episode felt the most heartwarming as the whole group was together the whole time rather than separated.

Ep 12 Kangba Altay
Mountain walks in the same grassland and graduation ceremony (reminiscing of all travel places). Ryan Cheng was not present as he had to leave early.

Ep 13 Kangba Altay
Final goodbye from everyone. The end of the trip.

OVERALL:
I recommend this variety show if you love to travel and like at least some of the actors (as you get to learn more about them here) + want to learn more about China's culture, heritage, food and sightseeings.

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Top-notch comedy, cute romance & mystery sub-plot

One of the funniest historical dramas I’ve ever watched with Zhao Lusi as the star and her three awesome male leads. The comedy was top-notch, the romance was cute and the actors had great on-screen presence. This drama is about the female lead who is the first woman to study at the Imperial College. While at the college, she falls in love, goes through academic challenges and reveals the mystery of her brother’s death. The plot is very straight-forward and the comedy and brilliant acting are the highlights of this drama.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
- Female lead (Zhao Lusi) - the smart, beautiful, brave, cute, outspoken and silly girl that you can't help but love.
- Male lead (Xu Kai Cheng) - the Deputy of Chief at the College. He was strict but also fair, a green flag love interest with unexpected small quirky traits.
- Second male lead (Ren Hao) - the childhood best friend. (His character really stood out to me because I had such conflicted feelings. I hated him and would never want to be near him but his aura was so hot and my eyes were always glued to the screen when he would show up).
- Third male lead (Ao Rui Peng) - the true comedy relief in this drama. His scenes were 100% gold.

POSITIVE:
- Top-notch comedy. For real, one of the most hilariously clever scripts I’ve seen.
- Fantastic acting. I truly feel the cast had great charisma and was the reason I continued to watch.
- Zhao Lusi as the star. If you like her, you need to watch this drama.
- Ao Rui Peng’s character was one of the best and his story was done well for a supporting role.
- Cute romance. For real, it was super sweet.
- No teacher-student drama. Even though in the drama the male lead is technically her teacher, we don’t really see him teach and there is no annoying drama about that.
- No love triangles for me. I see a lot of people saying there is a love triangle but I don’t see it that way. A love triangle for me is when one person loves two people or is involved romantically in some way with two people. In this drama, the female lead only has eyes and only loves the male lead. However, the second male lead does try to actively break the main leads apart. I usually find it annoying but in this case I didn’t mind it maybe because the actor was very charming.

NEGATIVE:
- Male lead didn’t stand out to me. He was good, I did like him but not impressive, especially when you put him next to Zhao Lusi.
- Last 5 episodes felt very draggy and I had to skip parts. The drama became more serious and focused on the mystery rather than the comedy.
- Too many episodes. There were certain small moments where the drama would start to feel draggy but then something interesting would happen. In general I feel like these small boring parts could have been avoided if the drama was shorter.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a hilarious and cute historical rom-com with an uncomplicated plot, watch this drama.

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Delulu girl dates a virtual boyfriend but with a twist. Loved Zhang Ling He and everything else.

I started this drama for Zhang Ling He but I stayed for the awesome characters, plot and romance. I initially thought this was going to be a mindless fluff (a cute romance and nothing more). But the drama surprised me with it’s multi-layered plot and emotional depth. We have themes of family, real vs virtual love, friendships and romantic relationships. All characters have depth and a meaningful backstory.

The drama is about the female lead who buys glasses which allows her to have a virtual boyfriend/husband. She can touch him and have imagery talks/scenarios in her head with him. One day her delulu mind gets even crazier when she meets the male lead who looks just like her virtual boyfriend.

The beginning of the drama is pure comedy. You see many delulu girls, walking on the streets and interacting with their invisible (virtual) boyfriends. The middle of the drama is emotional. You see the backstory of the main characters, and the very real struggles they experience in the world. The end of the drama is mystery/suspense with many unexpected plot twists. The romance is a running theme in the drama so if you are a hopeless romantic, you will enjoy this for sure.

This drama is a rare gem in many aspects but especially in the romantic department. The main and secondary couple shared equal screen time and I loved them both equally. The couples are different enough to make the drama interesting but as a group of four friends they compliment each other well.

POSITIVE:
- Many awesome plot twists (one of the best I’ve ever seen!)
- Comedy is top-notch (especially if you love the “girl is delulu” trend).
- Characters are well developed. Even the side characters have a meaningful and realistic story.
- No annoying characters (which is very rare to see).
- Self-aware writers. The characters do something ridiculous and then call themselves out on that.
- Fluffy romance for both couples (I loved both couples equally which is rare).
- Worth to watch this for Zhang Ling He. His character has an important role and if you love the actor you will enjoy this.
- Grumpy and Sunshine romance trope (main leads).
- Female chases male (main couple) vs male chases female (second couple).
- Side characters (like the granny and the famous singer are relevant to the plot, not just fillers).
- No fillers. Every scene that was not about the romance felt meaningful and important for the plot.

NEGATIVE:
- Some episodes felt a little draggy. But that could be because I was binge-watching and eager to see how it all ended.

OVERALL:
Personally, the drama made me FEEL so much. My heart warmed when I was watching the romance. My heart ached when I was watching the sad backstories and struggles of the characters. My heart beat fast with excitement when I was watching the plot twists and suspense! This drama may not be perfect, it may be cliche at times but it made me feel, and that's why it has become one of my all time favourites.

I started this drama only for Zhang Ling He and he ended up being the bonus factor not the main reason to continue to watch as I loved everything!

If you want a fluffy romance with characters that have emotional depth, a meaningful story with cool plot twists and an air of mystery - watch this drama.

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A love story about childhood sweethearts that's 100% comedy with no sad moments

The drama tells the love story of two childhood sweethearts and their lives from school to adulthood. The story starts slowly in terms of romance. The main leads act as siblings and around episode 12 (which is halfway through the drama) we start to see them liking each other. The best episodes for me were 12-20 as this is where the male lead chases the female lead and their early stages of dating during their university years. The ending episodes of the drama are filled with lots of kiss scenes and romance and the ending is wrapped up well.

Female lead is bubbly, independent, not a boy crazy girl who likes to dress more sporty. Her attitude is more boyish but still cute. She knows how to speak up. Male lead is a reserved, introverted, top of the class guy who secretly has a crush on the female lead. She is his one and only love. Together they go through the stages from sibling vibes, to best friends, to lovers. The best thing about them is that their attitude of teasing and protecting each other stays the same throughout the whole drama and the romance is just an added sweet bonus for them. None of the other characters really stand out to me however that's not an issue in which most of the screen time is given to the main leads.

POSITIVE:
- Lots of sweet and sexy kiss scenes especially towards the end of the drama.
- Lots and lots of hilarious moments. Comedy is sometimes exaggerated but the way it is done is 10/10 for me. You will smile, you will laugh, your mood will be uplifted for sure.
- No stupid break-up. When the leads get together they stay together till the end.
- No in-law problems. The parents of the leads are best friends and are in fact rooting for their children to get together.
- FL actress has perfect comedy timing and is truly the star of the drama for me.
- Main leads as characters felt well developed and real.
- The love story felt organic and developed well.
- Very light-hearted, funny and easy to watch drama.
- Cute chemistry between the leads.

NEGATIVE:
In general there are three points that bugged me. ML acting was the most prominent issue. The other two points are just small things that over all didn't stop me from enjoying this drama:
- ML acting was underwhelming which affected my enjoyment of the romance. The actor is great at flirty and more playful scenes but needs more practice when he is trying to act introverted and reserved. Especially in some scenes I could clearly tell he was reading from a script. I think he would play better as an extrovert character in general.
- Not a huge thing but this part of FL character bugged me as it made zero sense. FL knows taekwondo, she always jumps in front to protect everyone, she even throws ML into the water. And yet, when she was harassed by a guy, she couldn't do anything and had to be saved by the ML (in a very cliche way). I know the idea was to show a cute scene of a guy who is " knight in shining armour" coming to save the "princess" but it's extremely inconsistent writing with her character who is a strong and independent girl.
- Second couple were cute at the start but later were quite boring. They didn't really add anything to the story for me.

OVERALL:
If you want to watch an easy-going, super funny drama with no sad moments or a cute drama about childhood sweethearts, this will be perfect for you.

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Xianxia masterpiece about true love, friendship, sisterhood and good vs evil

At first I was hesitant to start this drama as it's freaking 59 episodes long and I was afraid there would be dull moments and filler episodes. The first two episodes didn't immediately wow me but were interesting enough for me to continue the show. I'm glad I did continue because the rest of the episodes instantly hooked me up. There was never a boring moment so this drama is truly binge-worthy. The plot is done so well, with lots of twists and turns + tons of romance, angst, mystery and heartbreaking scenes.

The male lead stuttering is a bit weird at first but it only lasts 2-3 episodes. The female leads at first, looks like your typical naive, girly girl. However I promise you both are much more than that and have wonderful character development. In fact the male lead is now one of my top favourite c-drama characters. The chemistry between the main couple is off the charts and I truly felt so invested in their relationship till the end. It's one of the most loving and beautiful relationships I've ever watched. The side couples are also very cute. All the characters and I mean all, are great, including the villains.

The acting is top-notch, especially the male lead performance captivated me. Music ties in everything really well and especially during the cool fight scenes is very different and memorable. Special effects are great. Truly I cannot find even one thing I dislike about this drama which is so rare. I don't typically rewatch dramas but I can definitely see myself doing that in the future. In short, this xianxia drama is a masterpiece and I 100% recommend it.

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Two sisters. Two husbands. Their fates intertwined.

This is the first cdrama I've watched and I specifically made an account here to express my love for this show. It's actually an obsession right now and I have serious withdrawals. There was something so exciting watching this on release days as I would wake up every morning and smile knowing I'll watch a new episode of this drama. I don't know what to do with my life now that it's over.

This drama has truly everything - love, friendship, family (sister's love), action, magic, amazing costumes. I truly fell in love with the sister's story, cinematography, music and acting. Everything is so well done and balanced. One minute I would laugh like crazy and the next I would cry my eyes out.

I have to admit that the second lead couple stole my heart (mostly Chaofeng) and they are the main reason I started to watch this drama. If you love an innocent girl and a mortally grey (bad boy with a good heart) type of vibe relationship - you will enjoy this drama so much. Having said that, the first lead couple also has great moments and I very much enjoyed seeing the development of their relationship + honestly all and I mean all the side characters and couple are amazing in this drama which is rare to see.

It has an open ending which makes sense to me and I love that we have an optimistic look rather than a sad ending as I wouldn't have been able to handle that. I still hope we will get a special episode or season 2 because 40 episodes was surprisingly not enough for me and I want more of all the cast.

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Fluffy, healthy main’s relationship, wholesome vibes

The drama is about the main leads who enter a committed relationship, with the desire for marriage, while being strangers to each other. Things get a bit complicated when they start working at the same department as boss (male lead) and employee (female lead).

Ngl, the start of the drama felt very odd and didn’t grab my attention at all but somehow by the end of the episode I was invested.

Ep 1-10
The beginning of the main lead’s relationship. I loved seeing the leads respecting each other due to their commitment and at the same time open up and get more comfortable with each episode. The intimacy was slow and built up well. The slightly annoying part here was that the female lead’s ex was chasing her and trying to get back with her.

Ep 11-20
The progression of the main lead’s relationship was steady. It felt like the writers did a nice job showing us how the main leads work through their misunderstandings. Nothing was dragged out. It felt realistic albeit a bit frustrating. It was nice that the female lead’s ex was out of the picture, however the new nuisance now was the male lead’s ex-school mate, who of course likes him.

Ep 21-27
The second couple totally stole the spotlight for me, especially here. Their love story arc was chef’s kiss. The main couple had many sweet moments. The conflicts were pretty much resolved so it felt like the drama could have nicely wrapped up here without the additional episodes.

Ep 28-32
I started ff/skipping stuff especially the business side and third couple. Ep 31-32 were sweet but too many flashbacks. In general, these episodes were not needed as it felt like they added nothing to the story.

Special Episode
I absolutely loved it as it showed the married life of both couples.

POSITIVE:
- 99% fluff. There were only about 2 episodes where sad things happened but otherwise it was always wholesome, happy vibes.
- Arrange marriage (kind of) + secret office romance.
- Secret crush trope.
- Healthy main lead’s relationship.
- Green flag male lead.
- Green flag parents. Truly one of the best I’ve seen in a cdrama.
- Cute school flashbacks. These are shown after the credits of each episode and are totally adorable.
- Romantic kisses and some skinship.
- Second couple that steals the spotlight as rivals to lovers.

NEGATIVE:
- Odd third couple. They meet as ex-lovers. The girl doesn’t want him but suddenly gets back together with him. The relationship had zero foundation, no flashbacks to tell us exactly how they fell in love, why they broke up etc. It seriously felt like their scenes at the start were cut. 99% of their scenes were as a couple, no individual scenes which made them one dimensional characters. They weren’t annoying per say but totally skippable. Especially their odd ending. Nah.
- Female lead’s behaviour. She can be slightly frustrating at times but that’s because the male lead is the perfect guy so the writers used her as a scapegoat to create conflict between them.

OVERALL:
This is the perfect fluffy cdrama to watch after a tiring day or before going to bed. You get lots of cuteness, romantic kisses and healthy relationships where the male lead is a total green flag. What makes this drama stand out from the other fluffs is its maturity and wholesomeness. Although the drama could have ended 5 episodes earlier, it was still a very enjoyable watch. If you love mature fluff, I recommend this one.

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Emotional & romantic love story that could have been great

The drama tells the love story of the dragon male lead who falls in love with the mortal female girl and spends four lifetimes protecting her silently with the hope that one day he will be together with her. The story starts beautifully, like a fairytale. The first 10 episodes focus on the main couple falling in love, and if you are a hopeless romantic you will definitely love this part. Then we have a separation as the mortal girl is reincarnated which is fine at first. Until she reincarnates again, and again. What could have been a sweet and romantic love story turns into a repetitive plot with zero development between the main leads after episode 10.

THE SECOND COUPLE IS WORTH TO SEE:
The love story of the second couple was perfect. "I-love-you-for-a-thousand-years" vibe. They have the perfect organic development and steal the spotlight especially in the second half of the drama. We see them bickering, we see them becoming friendly, we see them falling in love. We see them as the perfect star-crossed lovers. They had the sweetness, the angst, the fire chemistry, the grumpy/sunshine trope, cold man with bubbly woman.

HOW I RECOMMEND TO WATCH THIS:
I'd recommend watching episodes 1-10, then only watch the second couple while skipping the rest, and then finish the story with episodes 29-36. You won't miss anything plot wise because nothing happens in the 2nd and 3rd life. Honestly, if this drama was only 24 episodes with only the 1st and 4th life it would have been perfect for sure. Not that the 2nd and 3rd life are bad, if you watch them as 4 mini dramas they are interesting but the fact that for 17 episodes there is zero relationship development for the 1st couple is just horrible writing.

MUSIC:
I have to specifically mention that I loved the OST and I played the ending song on repeat non-stop. If you drop the drama, at least listen to the ending song as it's perfect.

THE FOUR LIVES:

1st life: ep 1-10 (10 eps)
- FL is an orphan, working as a maid. She is soft hearted and helps animals. This is where the main leads fall in love and it's done really well.

2nd life: ep 11-17 (7 eps)
- FL is hard-working, independent and head-strong. She is bullied by the village’s annoying girl. Honestly nothing much happens and you can totally skip this life (but watch the second couple scenes).

3rd life: ep 18-28 (10 eps)
- FL is a general and the strongest in the army, she is giving Mulan vibes.
- The best villain of the drama is here.
- Great war and fight scenes.
- Feels super draggy with boring side characters. The plot doesn't move forward. Zero development for the main leads. You can totally skip this (but watch the second couple scenes as they are amazing here).

4th life: ep 29-36 (7 eps)
- FL is born into a wuxia sect that fights demons. Everything is revealed here and we have a great final battle (it's low budget but still done well).

OVERALL:
I did enjoy watching this but I'm disappointed because the plot had great potential for the main leads but didn't deliver. I still recommend people to watch this but skip the parts I mentioned above. In terms of acting, I was very pleasantly surprised by the FL. She was phenomenal in playing 4 different characters. ML was a bit stiff but somehow it fitted his character. The second couple were perfect in every way.

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