Yan Yu Hong Chen (1998)

Don’t watch this series if you want to relax. Watch it if you want to be shocked and moved to throw things at your screen. It’s quite cathartic. It has the feel of TVB’s “The Bund,” only more messy. The writers skillfully built conflict and drama without dumbing down the characters… too much.

Chang Pei Hua as the male lead was a nice surprise. Known for playing vapid Qiong Yau heroes, he broke out of that mold by bringing an edge to the character of Hong Ri Sheng. Instead of imitating Chow Yun Fat's style, he had his own unique interpretation of a mob boss that I really like.

Yvonne Zhang has a lovely smile that could melt your heart. You see it in “Lushan Lian,” but you won’t see it in this series. Here, her smile never quite reached her eyes. Her Xin Yu didn’t light up when she looked at Ri Sheng. That spelled doom for their chemistry. I didn’t care for them as a couple.

The breakout star of this show was the uber versatile Sun Xing. He played a sick scumbag in TLTG and was a complete opposite of that here. As Zhang Jie, he was a teddy bear of a man who can be tough and fiercely loyal when he needed to be. His rocky romance with Gu Lan was easily the best thing about this drama. It was so sweet to see Gu Lan, a battered and cynical woman, learn to smile and fall in love with this adorable goofball.

If you’re a fan of Sun Xing, watch this for him because it’s one of his best performances and he doesn’t often get a starring role. If you’re not a fan of Sun Xing, you will be when you're done with this show.

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