I will even watch a BAD drama if Luo Zheng is in it

He was (in it). and this was (BAD.)
Where to start:

The story I guess....bottom line and you don't find this out until later: FL is not very bright because she had a high fever when she was a child, so she forgets things, acts like a child and is easily manipulated. This explains a lot about why she is the way she is.
ML recognizes her as a girl he met as a child and never forgot. Why does he like her now? If you can explain this to me, I'd appreciate it.
Enter twin-in-coma-in- hospital-and-other- twin-has-to-act-like- her- to- save-a-contract plot device, and let the antics ensue.
Every single moment he is with her, he is manipulating her. Cuz he likes her, apparently.... Could he have done this entire thing differently and wooed her without manipulating every situation? Sure. But would the writers have been paid? No. This is supposed to be a comedy. Is it funny? Is it gross? I don't know. I mean, obviously it's gross. But there are funny elements to it. Harmless because she loves him? I dunno. He doesn't actually HARM her. Unless you think manipulation is inherently harmful. But that's more philosophy and I don't have time to ponder that.

Bottom line, If you leave your brain and sense of judgment at the door, if you're looking for a very fluffy romance that is somewhat amusing, and you're wondering if you can find another Luo Zheng drama that has twins in it, (or really anything with Luo Zheng) watch it.

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TIan Xi Wei CRUSHES this

Watched this as one of my first forays into Chinese rom coms. I was at first annoyed because I thought they were making another actress look like a little adorable Yue Shen. Then I quickly forgot about the similarities and enjoyed the show. After having watched a crap load of Asian rom coms since, I've realized that the actress playing the female lead is brilliant! She's HILARIOUS. Her comedic timing and physical comedy is beautiful. If she's ad libbing some of these scenes, she's a natural genius. If she was directed, she nailed it. Watching the standoffish ML melt into a puddle pretty quickly without her being aware of it is pretty cute. A couple scenes are cringeworthy cute. The reviewer who said the ML could have been replaced by a Japanese robot is fairly accurate. But he does have some cute moments, playing off the FL. Not having watched the actor in anything else, I can't tell if it's his acting or the direction. Edit: now that I think about it, some of the best lines are when he realizes he likes her but is feeling insecure. He had me busting out laughing in some parts (esp swimming pool scenes) and it's hard to make me laugh. So, maybe he's just being directed to be stiff.

Yes, it has all the places you can fast forward if you don't enjoy the silly background filler plots. Watch it for the FL.

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great acting. fair storyline

One reviewer said to be patient because this takes a while to ramp up. they were right. Like 5 to 7 episodes. Then there are a string of really good episodes. But at mile 36, I gpt really tired. Almost shelved it in the last four episodes but powered through.

The thing that saves this show from being a 6.5 is the actors, especially FL(obviously Lu Si is a genius and rocks every script she touches) and 2ML (9 tailed fox), who already acted together in Love Like the Galaxy. (note, he needs to be a ML.). ML was I guess ok. . Haven't seen him in anything else, so maybe he was directed to act just the way he acted, and I didn't like his character versus his acting. Liked the character's playfulness and mischievousness, but in the more serious parts, he just seemed bland. There are more villains than you can count. Story is convoluted and goes off in a million different directions, with a ton of characters that are hard to keep straight. I tried not to skip because I wanted to try to figure out the plot.

One of my biggest gripes is the ending. without giving too much away, we viewers waited for this ending for 40 episodes, all anticipating an amazing ending and it just fizzled out -- such a disappointment. Writers, finish what you started!!! The 2ML and 2FL ending was more satisfying than the ML and FL.

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scary real, and scary good.

I caught this on a 2 hour youtube video spun as a love story about her first love. Wrapped up in a pretty bow so nicely, that I wanted to watch the rest. I'm on episode 24 now. I am not enjoying this as a story, but more as a fascinating psychological study.

This is her life in 3 parts:

Her first love. Beautiful, realistic. Painful. Passionate love affair. They break up because he's expecting their relationship to fit in with his work, and her to sacrifice her work. Instead she tries to fit their relationship around her work. In the end both choose their work and are heartbroken. I expect if they'd both chose the relationship both would be resentful. It's no magical happy ending. Raw and realistic. BF and FL are amazing in this.

2nd phase: To try to move on from the first love, and with the best of intentions, she chooses the opposite type of man, perhaps comfort instead of passion. And in the end, the woman who doesn't want to be controlled ends up jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Actor who plays husband should get an award for his portrayal of an insecure but honest and well-intentioned man who loves this woman but takes actions based on his insecurities and morphs into a gaslighting, controlling manipulator. Actress who plays his mother, who is there fanning the flames of that insecurity and calling him to tighten the leash, should also get an award. FL who in the first part was confident, self-reliant and outspoken, now because of her child and her married status, is vulnerable, helpless, trapped, and hopeless. FL is brilliant.

3rd phase: according to the synopsis, it's her love with the dying man. Haven't gotten there yet but riveted to the story so far. As it continues I am amazed at all of the cast, but especially actor who plays the husband's. When I think he can't get any better, he does.

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I came her to vent - major spoiler below

It was a 7.5 for me up until ep 31. cute time filler. At Episode 30 it was a nice ending, and very cute wrap up, even the ML and rival (3ML?) resolved their issues and got together. Their chemistry was good and really sweet. The way ML looks at FL is the best part of the chemistry. ML and FL actors are very good. I keep reading about the kissing.. I mean, I guess, compared to the CDs where they touch lips and do nothing, these are real, and not bad. But if you've ever kissed anyone, or seen a regular kiss onscreen, I mean, don't just tune in for that. You'll be disappointed.

And then episode 31 - 36 happened. Wait, what are we doing here....didn't this thing just end? sadly, it did not. Because here, I guess because the network wanted 36 episodes, they made up an enemy. ML's rival (3ML?) for 30 episodes was a conscientious, caring man terribly abused by his adoptive family who sets out to right a grievous wrong done to someone 5 years ago, does a complete 180 and becomes evil? No character building. No reasoning. just "two years later". It's completely and utterly inconsistent with his character from when we saw him as a child to age 30. What's his motivation for changing so drastically? Nothing. Calling complete bull**t on that.. For that reason, it gets a 5.5. Really disgusted with what the writers did to that character. They didn't have to find a cute girl for him and wrap it up with a bow, but dang,, make him act a in a way that is remotely similar to his character.,

If you watch it, stop at the first happy ending, episode 30.

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DRAAAAAGGGGS but I still enjoyed it

I'm late to the game on this, by 17 years. But in case anyone else is ready to watch this in 2023 here are my thoughts.

First off, the movie poster makes it look like a light-hearted comedy. It is not. FL actress is loveable in her portrayal of a charming lively girl pressed down by what she believes to be a loveless arranged marriage. It will make you think of Princess Diana a lot. Ther are many references and comparisons to Camilla and Prince Charles. 2ML actor does an excellent job portraying his heartbreak and longing. I could feel his pain and anguish in every scene. Even though many of the scenes were excessively repetitive and I fast forward some of them, I watched every single scene of 2ML's -- sometimes twice. He was riveting. The ML's mother is very well done, as a strict seemingly heartless queen, who is carrying pain and loss but trying to hold it all in.

I felt the heartbreak and hope of all the characters. I felt empathy for even the "villains". They are fleshed out and you can see the motivation for their feelings and actions. No one is all good or all bad.

the music is absolutely gorgeous. Perfect. I could listen to it every day.

Parts I hated:
Completely and utterly repetitive. Completely and utterly repetitive. Completely and utterly repetitive. You get where I'm going with this....Maybe even 4, 5, or 6 of the same scene would work. But there were dozens of repetitive scenes. We get the point. Move on, already. Could have cut at least 3 hours out of it by an editor tightening up the script.

The ML. I know it's from 2006, and the stiff, unfeeling, cold and heartless prince was probably in fashion at the time. Does he like her? Doesn't he? I totally get why he likes her. But not why she likes him. Since this is what they were going for, ML actor does a wonderful job. But back to the perplexity of why she likes him. Yes, he's attractive. She says grows to love him because she watches him and starts to understand him, and it makes her love him more. But so far (on episode 20) there is little character growth from him. You can see he cares about her, but mostly while she's sleeping. So, very little basis for her growing to care about him. And the FL reaction to his many insults: holding her tongue and taking it. Late into episode 18, 19 and 20, they could have cut 3 episodes out just by her telling him what he did to upset her. And why is he meeting with the 2FL ALL the time if he doesn't like her anymore and cares for his wife? And it doesn't make sense that he is so giddy happy with his sister, but does not let his affection show with his wife, who he has clearly grown to care for. EDIT: ML was rigid, cold and lifeless, but when his emotions finally broke free near the end, I could see how well the actor did in his portrayal. It was writing I had disliked, and not the actor's portrayal.

TINY SPOILER: and you don't have to give your old photos of your EX back to them! You can just toss them! That's another hour and misunderstanding that we didn't need. We get the idea. END SPOILER.

Overall, I'm glad I watched it. But be prepared to fast forward after the 8th time the scene repeats.

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Adorable! Sweet, but not too sweet.

Very refreshing rom com. Different from the normal tropey plot. Well acted. Loved the ML and FL, and grandpa. Janice Wu is, as usual, terrific. And I'm becoming a fan of the actor that plays the ML. As others have said, it's quite long. Could cut out at least 5 episodes. Long wait for FL and ML getting together, but it makes for a slow burn and sizzling romance. The side characters are dull, as others have said, and drag things down. Music is wonderful. Refreshing female lead. Intelligent, doesn't back down. ML is not abusive at all -- kind to FL.
Yes, I see that reviewers found the patriotism a little too much. For me, it was expected. It's a Chinese show. It's natural that they would include patriotism in it, especially about the pride of space exploration. It's far less than in "You Are My Glory".

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agree badly done ending, not BAD ending, just badly filmed

I'll post when the spoiler is about to happen. It's barely anything, unless you're wondering if they get together in the end, and if you've read the other reviews you probably already know. If not, don't read after that part.

It was like being on a smooth cross country flight and then a bad landing. Or, no, wait! Eating a lovely dinner (not the most expensive kind, just a lovely tasting dinner), then being handed a bad piece of fruit at the end. You don't hate the whole meal, but you're left thinking, "what? Could they not have at least checked that last strawberry?" I'm talking about the last 3 minutes. I think I get it was meant to be artistic. Instead it just....ended. Like the author wrote a beautiful story (not the best ever but still heartfelt emotional entertainment), then forgot to save the update, and instead just sent the draft that says "put ending here."

SPOILER HERE - . What others have said -- give the ending at least three minutes of them coming back together. We've waited for this moment for 15 episodes, and they're like, "Oh, hey." As in, look like you're ENJOYING coming back together. The last three minutes loses an entire point for me. In fact until I read another review here, I didn't realize that I'd stopped the show early (it looked like it was rolling credits to me), and there was a 2 minute ending scene that I missed entirely. After watching it, meh. It didn't add anything to take the taste away from the bad strawberry.

SPOILER OVER: Also, dang people! When you are reviewing the show and checking the box that says "this review may contain spoilers", you are still allowed to write a little before you spill what the spoiler is. As in, not have the first words of your review be "I can't believe the villain turned out to be X!!!!" And yet, even though I knew that "X" was the villain, ARGH!, I don't think that deterred from my enjoyment. And really, there's more than a few villains to go around in this one.

I had no issue with her ease of entry into new Josean. It's been done before and I didn't need to see more than was shown.. She was a trailblazer in old Josean. She didn't shock easily. It showed her adaptivity.

SPOILER: The old Josean husband storyline. Yes, that was sad. But, just as they weren't meant to be the first time around, they weren't mean to be the second. Or rather, neither made the choice to make it happen. He'd always had a heart condition. He always followed her around and loved her from afar. All those years living in the same town, watching her and painting her, he could have approached her again but he didn't. The fact that she refuses to show romantic love for him in his last days the second time they meet, is consistent with faithfulness of her character in other situations. Even if she never sees him again, she's going to be faithful to the husband she chose with her heart. She did, however, make his last days easier by being his faithful friend. (On their first wedding night, she did like him and she did want him, but he died, she mourned him, and that relationship ended. Once she fell in love with his future self, she sees that they are not interchangeable.)

The plot hole that did bug me (SPOILER) - was the new husband had heart damage, it got way worse after he met her and fell in love, and was completely gone the minute she left. Uh...did I miss something? And when she came back why was it still fine?

Overall I enjoyed it. Just don't eat that last strawberry, ie. stop it 15 seconds ahead of the ending and make up your own reunion. it will be better than theirs. . then fast forward to the very very very end.

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Loved

First review here. The love story here is extraordinary. People keep referring to it as fluffy and cute. I think it is more very sweet at the beginning. I liked the ending too. Tied everything up nicely. The middle, I suppose, is fluffy -- if your definition of fluffy means tear your heart out of your chest, slam it against the wall, put it through a meat grinder and throw the pieces on the street for the wild dogs to eat. I had to fast forward to the ending to reassure myself that it would get less painful as I sobbed into my pillow. But man, it strung me along for a while.

The ML's conveying of a huge range of emotions is extraordinary. The actor is brilliant in this role. The FL plays a robot throughout a lot of the show, so has to remain emotionless. Her human versus robot emotions are beautifully done.

The rest of the cast did a great job. I'm not usually a fan of the silly comic relief characters, but they were cute and funny and I didn't want to fast forward through them like i do in other dramas.

Highly recommend it. Haven't seen any of the ML and FL's other works, but hope they both got roles worthy of their acting after this.

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