I enjoyed the overall storyline and character relationships. It was one of those shows where I couldn't stop watching. A few specific things I really enjoyed:

Strong female characters:
Obviously the main lead, Xie Xiang is a force of her own, training alongside and competing against men in the academy. She gets a lot of support and help from the leading male characters but is never a damsel in distress. Qu Manting, despite being spoiled and demanding, is a woman who also defies patriarchal norms and is determined to make her own living. Huo Xiaoyu’s story as a single, older woman that commanded so much power and respect made her really impressive.

Acting:
Xu Kai does well as the narcissistic and goofy Gu Yanzhen. There are a few serious scenes where he is furious, and his anger was so palpable on screen it was frightening. Toby Lee as Shen Junshan was fantastic. The way he displays the character’s emotions behind his refined and somewhat restrained character where spot on. His facial expressions so perfectly displayed those mixed emotions. The main villain displays this juxtaposing girlish charm with chilling murderous intent and it was perfect.

Costumes:
I am no fashion expert but the costume design was beautiful. Especially the elaborate dresses that Qu Manting and Huo Xiaoyu wore, but also the suits that the men wore were all pretty dapper.

Huang Song:
He’s just the most loveable, wholesome character.

A few minor grievances:
In the first episode, Gu Yan Zhen displays pretty awful behaviour. While drunk, he harasses Qu Man Ting, grabs her and attempts to kidnap her. My initial reaction to this was that it was pretty violent and disrespectful behaviour to a woman, even though to him it all seemed to be a joke. This initial impression made it really difficult for me to appreciate his character as someone who could respect women for the first half of the show. I realise the character was introduced as a delinquent to give him room to develop later on, but I wish the writers chose a different way to introduce their main male lead.

When questioning the sexuality of the male characters, they were asked “are you ill/sick?.” This is probably a reflection of how same-sex relationships were viewed in the context and is no fault of the writers, however it was something I disdained.

The main villain had a complex and sad backstory which were only superficially discussed. I feel that looking into this backstory in detail would have been worthwhile to provide more depth into the character's vengeful motivations.

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