TL;DR - A great C-drama to get back into the world of C-dramas. Unique storyline with cute romance and a strong supporting cast.

This is the first C-drama in years that I watched and not only did I complete it, but I also enjoyed it and squealed like a teenager from start to finish!

There are so many good things about this drama that I don't even know where to start. From the fast-pace story telling and well developed plot (except near the end) to the amazing main and supporting leads, and a genuinely sincere romance between the main leads, this drama has it all. The only thing that knocks it down is how they rushed some plots near the end that lost impact and didn't give time for some of the supporting characters to develop properly (eg. Su Mo getting over himself to be with the princess, Chuchu's character arc). Plus the ending with Qianqian (QQ) and Han Shuo (HS) felt a bit anti-climatic and overall I felt that this could've benefited from a few more episodes. However compared to other dramas I was watching, I was ok with this sort of rushed, but meaningful plot.

What makes this drama so fun is that it's very self aware and pokes fun at the C-drama cliches we see nowadays; if you're someone who watches or reads C-material regularly, you'll definitely recognize them here. The tropes are still here, but the drama satirizes it in a way that makes the watcher engaged and doesn't insult their intelligence. There are many times that I actually laughed out loud and the fast pacing allowed me to be completely absorbed in the world and the characters.
Speaking of the characters, hat's off to whoever casted them, because they were easily my favorite part of the show. I never thought any of them were pointless, and this would've likely not been such an enjoyable watch without them. I even liked the 'bad' characters, because I understood their motivations and their actions made sense. Shout out to QQ's servant who almost stole the show for me with his hilarity and facial expressions, and the group of three storytellers who followed along with QQ's story. QQ's mom is also awesome and I actually liked Chuchu as well, though I wished she was given more time to complete her arc instead of leaving her as a wicked person (also she should've been punished for what she did, she got off too easily).

Of course, the two that stole the show for me were our amazing leads HS and QQ. Both are great characters on their own and together they were just freaking adorable. What won me over was how genuine their relationship was, and how much they'd sacrifice for the other's sake. I squealed so much over their cute interactions and how harmonious they were as a team. I love how HS is not a typical, stone-faced ML but has a funny side and actively protects the FL even when she does him wrong. QQ is also a great FL and I love how she takes things into her own hands instead of passively accepting her fate, and is very self-aware of the shortcomings of her own story. My only problem with them is that...they had their first time in a dank-a** prison. Like wtf? This was one of the few times that I wondered why this had to happen this way and they were honestly robbed of having that special moment.

The opening song is adorable and I liked all the music that was played in this drama. There wasn't a time where it was inappropriately played or out of place. I'd certainly give this a re-watch, mainly for our leads and some supporting characters and would definitely recommend you watch.