Profile: Drama: Falling Into Your Smile (你微笑时很美) Country: China Episodes: 31 Aired: Jun 23, 2021 – Jul 15, 2021 Aired On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Original Network: LINE TV, Tencent Video, Youku Duration: 45 min
Plot: Tong Yao joins the all-male ZDGX OPL team, replacing Ming, and becomes the first female professional esports player. ZDGX team leader, Lu Si Cheng, at first didn’t accept her, but they slowly grow close.
Main Cast: Xu Kai – Lu Si Cheng Cheng Xiao – Tong Yao Zhai Xiao Wen – Jian Yang
Review: Somehow i always end up watching esports themed drama even though I’m not a fan of esports. But i appreciated the esports players after watching this drama. Didn’t realize they also do a lot of trainings. I just thought they were naturally talented.
I liked getting a peek into the good and bad sides of the industry. I think it’s the same as with showbiz where fans, rumors and fake news can make or break you. Fans dont own the players and we should respect them and their personal lives. You are watching esports because of the sport and the player who is good at the sport. It shouldn’t matter who the person was dating or doing unless it’s something illegal.
I like the ZGDX team and their friendship. Accepting Tong Yao as the only female player in the team. They also fight and argue a lot but they all grow and learn better.
I also liked that they showed the different teams and their sportsmanship with one another. The ending when Tong Yao won the championship and everyone (not just ZDGX) was cheering and praising her skills (even the ex boyfriend who at first was annoying).
I found the romance cute from the first time they met until they got together around ep 21 or 22. One of the cutest confession scene when the kitty came out of Cheng’s jacket, and Tong Yao was so happy she hugged Cheng. (I would have done the same 😁).
I wanted Tong Yao to be more responsive during the kiss scenes. She always looked wide eyed and wasn’t playful like Cheng. So it felt like Cheng liked her more than she did and the kissing didnt look natural. Which was too bad because there were a lot of kissing scenes and Xu Kai was too hot to not kiss!
Unfortunately, I got bored starting ep 23 and was fast forwarding to finish. I didnt like the forced issue with Cheng as the captain.
ProfileTitle: 第9節課 English title: Lesson in Love Genre: Romance, youth Episodes: 12 Broadcast network: iQiyi, EBC Broadcast period: 2022-Dec-11 to 2023-Jan-08 (iQiyi) 2022-Dec-11 to 2023-Jan-15 (EBC) Air time: 12:30 (iQiyi), 20:00 (EBC)Country: Taiwan Language: Mandarin
Plot: A forbidden love between a high school student and his teacher results in secrets being revealed about the past, and a stalker that threatens the relationship and their lives.
Main Cast Tiffany Hsu – Chen Meng Yun Edward Chen – Zheng Yi Xiang Simon Hsueh – Li Da Wei Ivy Yin – Xie Shu Fen
Review Thought i’m open minded when it comes to relationships but this one really tested me!
The drama was addicting because the topic is taboo and there were a lot of twists along the way. The first 6 eps weren’t easy to watch and I wasn’t sure why I was still watching. Not because it was bad, but because I was uneasy seeing a high school guy bullying his teacher and also harassing her to like him, while the teacher wasn’t doing anything to stop his advances and seems like she liked it too! Ep 7-9 made me feel uncomfortable coz I thought although it’s not a crime to fall in love, it felt too inappropriate for the teacher to fall in love with a high school student. Couldn’t they have waited until he graduated before they started anything? Ep 10-12 added a stalker storyline to already stressful events, which I thought wasn’t really needed.
To be honest, it’s tough to like the couple, Mengyun and Yixiang given the circumstances. But I admire them for fighting for what they want. If I were Mengyun’s friend, I would have told her to stop or wait, instead of her nurse friend who was even egging her to snag the hot young blood. Are they really teachers??? I also didn’t feel any passion in all their steamy scenes because I look at the guy and all I see is him wearing his high school uniform in every scene, reminding us that he is still a boy. And an adult should not be messing around with a kid!!! But later on, his father telling his son that he was ok with the relationship also made me think. He’s right, the more they try to stop them, the more the kid will rebel. And it’s better to accept them so they won’t further hide what they were doing and they can monitor their relationship.
However, I didn’t like the way Mengyun was written. From the start her decisions and actions have been terrible. We don’t always know what she is thinking or feeling because she has one expression. What did she like about Yixiang? He was bullying her, humiliating her in front of the class, almost sexually harassing her, and she kept telling the other teachers that it wasn’t like that, he wasn’t harassing her etc. Maybe it’s really true what they say. If you don’t like the person, he/she is a stalker, but if you like the person, it was sweet and romantic! And then just because he had a puppy love, he starting cleaning up his act, walking her home, going on cute dates, she easily fell in love. If she didn’t find out that they could be potentially siblings, she probably wouldn’t even stop to think what am I doing with a kid when all my friends are getting married and having kids? I really can’t imagine, but hey she seems happy so be it. But she should have resigned even before it became public because it was really unethical. Another thing is I get that she is angry and wants revenge from Yixiang’s mom, but if you look at it reasonably, the mom was an adult when she started the affair with the dad (not that it excuses her actions), but you don’t get revenge by doing the same thing to a kid. She knew the trauma she kept all these years, and if it turned out badly, Yixing could also be scarred and traumatized by her too!
I really hated the mom at the start but in the end, I actually liked her even more than the FL. She had the most growth in the drama. Still doesn’t excuse all the bad things she did and I understood she tried to protect her son from an adult trying to get her revenge and hurt her son. if I had a child and he was having an affair with the teacher, I probably would also try to stop it from happening too. But not the lying and trying to get the teacher fired through power abuse. Or on second thought, maybe I would be the cool mom and say, okay you can date after you graduate from high school. But do not get her pregnant now. Oh and also if the teacher is younger than me!! i can’t have a daughter/son in law older than me! lol!
The whole stalker thing was unnecessary and obvious but can’t believe they didn’t figure it out! Probably because they were too busy with themselves. When Dawei showed up in her hometown just as she was taking her vacation, it was too creepy and Mengyun should have seen all the red flags!!! Also, I didn’t like that the ending was written in a way that they’re forced to forgive or sweep everything under the rug after the stalker. Like thank you, my son almost died but you saved him and for that I will accept you as my son’s girlfriend. I think without the accident, the mom would still be fighting with her son and be totally against Mengyun, which I think is more realistic than showing all is well after 6 years. Also, I’m sad that it seemed like Mengyun ended up being a stay at home wife/girlfriend (not that it’s bad) but I wished they showed her still being confident and successful despite the initial scandal. She literally took what Yixiang said that he will protect her and support her if she waits for him.
Profile: Drama: She and Her Perfect Husband (爱的二八定律) Country: China Episodes: 40 Aired: Nov 14, 2022 – Dec 11, 2022 Aired On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Original Network: Tencent Video Duration: 45 min.
Plot: To get a shot at promotion, a female lawyer lied that she is already married to a guy she has never met. By some twist of fate, they meet at a party and her boss and colleagues thinks that he is her real husband. She makes a deal with the guy to pretend to be her husband for 3 months in exchange for a place to live and to help him stop his mother from setting up blind dates. Will their fake marriage turn into a real marriage?
Main Cast: Yang Mi – Qin Shi Xu Kai – Yang Hua Li Ze Feng – Tao Junhui Wang Zi Xuan – Wu Feifei Baby Zhang – Yao Yao
Review:
First completed drama for 2023! My third jiedi lian romance. I don’t know why I gravitate towards this kind of romance. Most likely it’s because the actor is cute 🙂
I love the relationship between Qin Shi and Yang Hua. They may have started with a fake relationship, but they supported and complemented each other that the age gap wasn’t even an issue. And the guy wasn’t “lower” than her, he was a genius and helpful to her career, it’s just that he had some previous career issues he had to work with, and meeting Qin Shi gave him the courage to face his issues and find support where his parents/friends/ex gf couldn’t give him. Where can I find my own Yang Hua? He was almost perfect! Good thing Qin Shi found the perfect fake husband. What if she randomly found another stranger who was a jerk? It will be a very different story! I wished they also showed how successful Yang Hua was to get back at all those who looked down on him for being jobless.
Every fake marriage trope needs to end before their real relationship begins. That’s why I didn’t mind that they broke up on eps 36-40. Qin Si mostly had the upperhand in the relationship, so it was just right that she should be the one who realizes what she lost. Although I liked that that they got back together, I wish it was Qin Shi who made the grand gesture to bring him back. And even at the end, they never said “i love you” to each other and they didn’t remarry. But that’s alright. Just like what Yang Hua said, they don’t need to get married, as long as they can be together forever and ever. Not being a pessimist here, but nowadays, marriage doesn’t guarantee forever.
I was expecting to hate Tao Junhui but I actually liked him too. It’s just that he wasn’t able to protect Qin Shi that time, and she disappeared from his life that he couldn’t even make amends. And now he missed his timing since Yang Hua is already in Qin Shi’s life. Although I don’t know if Yang Hua wasn’t there, will Qin Shi take him back? She probably still wouldn’t. I can’t believe that he would like a spoiled and spiteful girl like Wu Fei, I thought he deserved better. I thought Wu Fei was cute and sweet, but she so the opposite of Qin Shi, who was sexy, mature and intelligent. I didn’t want Junhui to end up with Wu Fei, but the ending looks like Wu Fei also grew up a little and is now ready to be more mature and work earnestly and not just rely on her daddy’s money. I hope that’s true!!
What I didn’t like is that it took too long for Qin Shi to resign from Cheng & Hui and realize how toxic their culture was. Junhui already warned her that she was being used, but she didn’t listen since she had stubbornly set her sights on partnership. I almost thought she was going to accept the partner offer after all the humiliation she went through. I’m so happy she didn’t!! Particularly Madam Tang who I always thought looked so fake, trying to dangle the carrot in front of Qin Shi and throw it away again and again.
I thought Li Dai was going to be the b.tchy villain but I also liked her a lot! She is the funny, sassy friend that Qin Shi needed. Wished that they just opened their own female lawyer studio. Their combo will be lethal!
Let’s not forget Yang Hua’s best friend who is funny and great help to the couple. I love their dates with him tagging along. Too bad we didn’t get to see his wife.
The whole side story about the brother Wenyu and Meimei was boring so I skipped all those parts. They just keep fighting and fighting it was so toxic.
Lastly, I loved the ost but couldn’t find the songs on Spotify.
Profile: Drama: You Are My Glory (你是我的荣耀) Country: China Episodes: 32 Aired: Jul 26, 2021 – Aug 16, 2021 Aired On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Original Network: Tencent Video Duration: 35 min.
Plot: He is a serious aerospace engineer and she is a popular actress. They were classmates in high school and she used to have a big crush on him but she got rejected. Years later, they meet again when she asks him to teach her how to play a mobile game where she is the endorser. Will love find them this time around?
Main Cast: Yang Yang – Yu Tu Dilraba Dilmurat – Qiao Jing Jing
Review: “You are the rabbit that has seen the most stars.”
I always love stories where one is a celebrity and the other is an average person.
The first 10 eps focused on meeting each other again after years and they spent most time playing games and how they grew closer. I’m not a gamer so I wasn’t really interested in the technical stuff and I couldn’t understand their obsession with playing but it was still nice to see them interact and learn more about each other every day. The middle 10 episodes were about Yu Tu’s aerospace stuff, which is boring since I again don’t understand the technical stuff except whatever he is doing must be brilliant and impressive, and how they end up confessing their feelings. The last 10 episodes were what I came for — it was all about their relationship after becoming official – 2 months after then 2 years later we see them work on their long distance relationship, to finally getting married in a simple and non-celebrity kind but equally gorgeous wedding, and 5 years after getting married where we see their love just keeps growing stronger. The only thing missing was a child, but I think they’re too busy to have one. Maybe next time.
I love Yu Tu as the male lead. He is not the usual arrogant ML that we see in Cdramas. He is thoughtful, and his dilemma on chasing his dreams vs earning money for his family is relatable. And i love that he took his time to get to know Jing Jing but when he finally realized and sorted his feelings, he was 100% invested in their relationship. Likewise, Qiao Jing Jing is down to earth and sweet even though she is a top actress who is used to getting what she wants. She preferred to live in Yu Tu’s smaller place instead of her gorgeous house because it’s nearer to Yu Tu’s office. And she decided to have a simple wedding rather than a lavish one. And she didn’t bother officially announcing their relationship even if they were very public about dating.
On paper, this relationship should not work — they seem like total opposites and yet, somehow their relationship made so much sense. And I think it’s because they connect with each other. They support each other in their career goals and comfort each other when they’re down. They also love teasing each other. Lots of hugs and kisses too and sexy times. Despite their long distance relationship, they made it work by being honest and open with each other. Whoever casted Dilraba and Yang Yang should be rewarded because they look so great together!
I also love the soundtrack been looking for it and havent found them. I’m also tempted to buy the cute stuff they were showing like the rabbit earrings, rabbit doll, rocket toy, the mini astronaut figurine. Even purjoy haha which they drank in almost every scene 🤣
KDrama Dreaming 