Being a fan of the novel and the Taiwanese drama, I was very excited when I learned that there would be a Chinese drama. The actors were all unknown to me, so I was watched their previous dramas. The only one who really worried me was Zhang Xue Ying, whom I had seen in a rather thankless role in Fifteen Years of Waiting For Migratory Birds. I thought she didn't have what it took to convey the grace and complexity of the character.
And to be honest, she proved me completely wrong: Zhang Xue Ying is fresh, graceful, natural and touching in this role and she is now one of my favorite actresses. I even find her superior to her predecessor, Barbie Xu who was very imposing but did not give off enough emotion for a woman in love, unlike Zhang Xue Ying who remains strong but nevertheless accessible to the viewer because she notably shows more passion and naturalness. . Moreover, she has very good chemistry with her partner Qin Jun Jie who plays Ou Chen.
Qin Jun Jie is also a pleasant discovery of this drama. Many compared him to Peter Ho, his predecessor, by saying he was less good. But let's be honest, Peter Ho was just AMAZING in this part and it's hard (almost impossible) to reach such a level, especially in the same part. In addition, the scriptwriters sought to soften his character, which makes it impossible for Qin Jun Jie to act exactly like Peter Ho and to fully exploit his acting. So There's no need to compare him to Peter Ho. Qin Jun Jie is touching and natural, and he has a promising future.
But although I have nothing to reproach Qin Jun Jie for his representation of Ou Chen, i do have something to say about the representation that the screenwriters made of the character.
The story is originally rather dark and the three main characters have a bit of a twisted side (Xia Mo with her coldness, Ou Chen with his possessiveness and scary temper and Luo Xi with his manipulative side). The Taiwanese drama had managed to convey this atmosphere full of tension, with characters who had been abused or neglected by their parents and still bore the scars of it.
But here, we don't find that tension or that touch of madness in them: the setting is full of bright colors and Ou Chen’s character was softened and we don’t really feel the lack of love and the loneliness he suffered, which is supposed to explain his obsessive love for Xia Mo. Terrible mistake because the character of Ou Chen is incredible because he has a ruthless and crazy side, especially with Xia Mo and here they make him lose what characterizes him the most . In addition, the evolution and the final redemption that the character goes through at the end loses its meaning here since it is much less important and unexpected because of him being softer.
In addition, the scriptwriters used a different chronological sequence from the novel and the drama: they just told the events in the order of the chronological sequence, a simpler solution but more boring for the plot, whereas the novel and the Taiwanese drama had revealed to us what happened with flashbacks, giving the viewer a sense of suspense and mystery that makes you want to know what happened between the characters and provides a sense of climax when everything is finally revealed.
But we find none of that in the scenario of the new version. Neither the mystery, nor the tension, nor the touch of madness of the characters. Besides, I don't see the fake angelic appearance of Luo Xi that he has in the novel but, it was already the case in the Taiwanese version which also rathered to focus on his cunning side (a choice that I don’t necessarily approve but okay). In addition, they added a lot of useless subplots that weigh down the story (like Fang Jin Hua, resentful journalist whom they try to present to us as attaching despite her villainous side, without succeeding). The whole thing frankly turns melodrama (I really have the impression that they were inspired by Korean makjongs which I hate) and it's more boring than anything else (ex: when we see Ou Chen following Xia Mo everywhere just to annoy Luo Xi).
Finally, the staging choices are not always terrible either: either they are ordinary, or they are clichés (ex: the rain when Ou Chen confronts Xia Mo in his old house : seriously ? 😓), or just plain badly done with too much slow motion or bad background music choices that don’t seem to have anything to do with the scene (ex: we often have soft and soothing music for a sad or tense scene and the result is weird).
Also, Huang Sheng Chi who plays Luo Xi lacks a little of natural (but I find that it was also the case of Huang Xiao Ming, his predecessor), especially when we compare him to his partners but after all,he is young and far from being bad: in short, he has potential.
In summary, this version of a brilliant and original story is nice to watch, and introduces us to a patch of very good actors, but it's not epic either because of the screenwriting choices that were made. It's even less awesome compared to the Taiwanese version, but it's still nice to watch.
In itself, it's worth a 6/10 but I put a 7/10 for the actors that I was happy to discover and because this story holds a special place in my heart.