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Drama: Nothing But You (爱情而已)
Country: China
Episodes: 38
Aired: Mar 27, 2023 – Apr 8, 2023
Aired On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Original Network: CCTV, iQiyi, JSTV, Tencent Video
Duration: 45 min.
Plot: A promising badminton player switches to tennis with the help of his club manager.
Main Cast:
Zhou Yu Tong – Liang You An
Wu Lei – Song San Chuan
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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.
Rating: 7.5/10
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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.
Rating: 8.5/10
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Drama: The Rational Life (理智派生活)
Original Network: Hunan TV, Netflix, Mango TV, Netflix, Netflix, Netflix, Mango TV
Aired: Mar 31, 2021 – May 4, 2021
Episodes: 35
Duration: 45 min.
Country: China
Plot
A story of a successful and driven young woman as she navigates through her professional career and personal life.
Main Cast
Qin Lan – Shen Ruo Xin
Wang Hedi – Qi Xiao
Bao Wen Jing – Ziyan
Chen Peng Wan Li – Suyang
Lin Xin Yi – You Sijia
Kang Kang – Zou Cheng
Review
I loved Ruoxin as the main character. I thought she was very inspiring on how she was able to deal with office politics in a male dominated company, and how she is able to handle crises, and how she relied on her skills and efforts to climb the corporate ladder.
I also loved Qi Xiao, he was mature and can do anything. Cook, design jewelry, sweet, support Ruoxin. We also saw how he grew up and thrive in the office, starting from an assistant who just followed his boss to a competent one who can also make good decisions. I’m glad he was able to follow his dreams of being a designer.
I loved Ruoxin and Qi Xiao together, although some times I wonder if they really are in love or they’re just so used to be together and because he is Ruo Xin’s assistant. But was so moved with Qi Xiao’s confession on episode 27. I thought that scene was perfectly executed to show both of their growing and scary feelings for each other.
I watched another jiedi lian romance called Find Yourself (2020) which I loved but I thought this one was executed better and felt more complete because this just didn’t focus on romance but also about the journey of Ruo Xin in her professional career. One thing I noticed is that the age gap of 10-12 years isn’t really bad depending on the age of the characters. Like 25 against 35 isn’t bad, or 30 vs 40 but this types of dramas tend to go to the extreme, a very successful woman in her 30s with a very young fresh grad guy of 21 or 22. I think in reality this wouldn’t happen or really work because even though the personalities may match, in the end they are at a very different stage in life and one will eventually have to sacrifice for the other. And the younger guy still have lots of growing up to do. But of course, there will always be an exception to the rule. And another thing is Qin Lan is very beautiful but she doesn’t look 34 years old. She looks her natural age and it shows when she’s beside Dylan who looks very young (at playing the same age as his character).
I loved the story of Ziyan and her husband. They had a rocky marriage, i was almost sure that I hated her husband and wanted her to leave him, but i loved how they were able to talk through their issues and not only stay together, but really love and appreciate each other.
At our wedding, five years ago, you said something that still moves me even to this day. After holding your hand for five years, I just want to say, Let’s hold hands until we’re old. Even death won’t separate us. The most beautiful love poem for my life-long comrade. I hope we can be the closest comrades in the years to come. Let’s face life’s ups and downs, and the fragility in humanity together. Let’s get through conflicts, temptations, frustrations, and challenges. For the latter half of our lives, maybe we’ll get plenty of chances to let go of each other’s hands and survive alone. But hopefully, in the end, we won’t. Love runs deep, but loyalty runs deeper.”
Ziyan to Zou Cheng on stage, episode 34
I also liked Suyang and Sijie, they were so cute together, although there were times i wanted to get angry at Suyang, I’m glad he has Sijie by his side who didnt stop believing in him.
“My dream is to become a better version of myself. One I can be proud of! One who can handle life’s struggles, grab all opportunities and see a bigger stage! Then do everything possible to get a hold of it.”
Suyang to his parents, episode 31
Some of the not so nice parts but didn’t lessen my love for this drama. First, Ruoxin’s voice is always so soft and calm even in urgent situations. She only raised her voice one time for the entire 35 episodes, even when she was angry, her voice was still soft. I thought this was too odd. Second, all of the older guys in the office and her suitors were jerks except Xu Mingjie who was half a jerk. I dont think the drama needed to portray this to show that Qi Xiao is the better match.
Third, Ruoxin’s mom was so off, I’m not sure if it’s the acting or the character. One day she will be sweet and kind, the next day she will scream at Ruoxin. Then another day she will cry and be scared. I didn’t know what she wanted for Ruoxin and thought she was selfish and thought more on herself than her daughter’s happiness. I liked the last episode where the couple sat down and explained to her their side and she finally listened and said that she is also learning from them.
I wonder where i can find the special episodes? Netflix does not have them.
Rating: 9/10
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