Coronavirus

I realized it has been around six months since I last posted and in that time the world has been hit and dealing with coronavirus. It began in Wuhan, China and has now become a global pandemic with shelter in place done all over the world. 

To date we've been at home since March 13th, more or less doing minimal outside contact. The only times we have gone out are for food purposes and maybe to see my sister and grandparents. It has been a challenge and struggle from a work and schooling perspective as well as mental aspect. 

In the US, almost 51,000 people have died from the virus and almost 890,000 cases have been reported. There is some question about how accurate this information is citing the numbers could be much higher than reported. In the county of Los Angeles, there has been around 800 deaths and around 17,500 cases reported. 

As of now there is no solution on how to deal with this aside from having a vaccine which is in the process of development but could take years to administrate. Currently it has been the long game of wait and see. 

With all that said I should have more time to get back to recapping Love Family or any of the dramas I keep watching. I hope to be better about posting stuff on here going forward. 

Love Family Ep 5 and 6 (recap)

EP 5

Kai Hua ends up staying for dinner, to You Ai's dismay. She quickly invites Sheng Ren to stay as well which annoys Kai Hua. During dinner You Ai's dad highlights all the accomplishments of Kai Hua to You Ai who just politely agrees. On his way out, You Ai hands Sheng Ren a bag of food saying it is for Shi Long and a little extra for himself. The next morning Yin Yin is over with food for Sheng Ren but he is on his way grocery shopping with You Ai. He informs her Shi Long could use the food, so she reluctantly brings it to him. Little does she know he is at home having a feast for one. Shi Long thanks her for the food, after hiding his other goods and she takes the opportunity to dig up some information on Sheng Ren. Meanwhile, You Ai and Sheng Ren are shopping while discussing the future of the inn. On the way out You Ai gets hit in the leg by a shopping cart and starts bleeding.

Sheng Ren rushes to her aid and dries up the injury using the handkerchief he got from his Angel. You Ai notices how feminine it is and asks him about it but he just brushes it off. Sheng Ren thinks about his conversation with You Ai while cleaning the handkerchief. It is family day at Happy House Inn and everyone is gathered to spend some family time even Kai Hua who was invited by the father. Everyone that is but Shun-Cheng, You Qing's husband, who claims he is too busy working to make it. You Ai starts questioning You Qing about him and Sheng Ren comes upon them bickering. He informs You Ai to lay off You Qing which upsets You Ai claiming it is a family matter and none of his business.

Thoughts: When Sheng Ren and You Ai aren't bickering or arguing they are really sweet and cute together and I enjoy their chemistry quite a bit. You can tell they respect each other and have much more in common than they think. I did think Sheng Ren was out of line for getting into You Ai and You Qing's business. Mainly because he does not know the full story of Shun-Cheng and the family.

EP 6

You Ai gets angry and storms off with You Qing in tow. She tells her sister as they are leaving she just doesn't want to see her get bullied. Back home, Sheng Ren is thinking about the discussion the two sisters had and decides to hire a private investigator to follow Shun-Cheng. The next morning Yin Yin arrives with coffee for Sheng Ren and she finds him in the garden working. While they are talking Yin Yin spots a snake. She screams and starts running off only to see Sheng Ren is frozen. She grabs his hand and drags him away running. When they do stop they run into You Ai.

She asks why they were running and then notices them holding hands. Yin Yin drops Sheng Ren's hand quickly and informs her they were running away from a snake. You Ai asked Sheng Ren if he was scared and tells him he shouldn't be given he is a man. Yin Yin scolds You Ai for saying that reminding her years ago she saved a little boy from a snake as well. Sheng Ren is surprised to hear this and begins to ask a series of questions which You Ai quickly shuts down. On the way back to the inn, Sheng Ren starts to consider if You Ai could really be the Angel he is looking for. Sheng Ren informs Shi Long of his findings and decides to approach You Ai. However, given his argument from the other day he has to figure out how to approach her. Yin Yin's mother comes to visit the inn and notes how much she likes the two young men working there. She is a woman living below the age she is. Sheng Ren runs into You Ai and apologies to her for stepping out of line regarding her argument with You Qing, You Ai is taken aback but accepts it. Later Yin Yin comes with food for Sheng Ren again and he takes the time to probe more about the snake incident from years ago. You Qing and her song Yu Lun are shopping at the mall when Yu Lun thinks he spots his dad. He informs You Qing who takes a look and quickly realized it is him with his arm around another woman. She is clearly upset but informs Yu Lun he must be mistaken. You Ai is working in the garden when Sheng Ren sees her and decides to help. The two of them start working and discussing about organic gardening and farming. Back at home, You Qing gets a call from Shun-Cheng saying he is "working late". Meanwhile, Sheng Ren is trying to figure out how to confess to You Ai she is the Angel he has been looking for for so many years.

Thoughts: It is bugging me how You Qing does seem like a push over and how crappy her husband seems to be treating her. The interaction between You Ai and Sheng Ren in the garden was nice and so comfortable ... I enjoy how similar they are without knowing it. I am glad it was revealed early on that You Ai is Sheng Ren's Angel and they didn't drag it out for 15 eps.

Love Family EP 4 (recap)

EP 4

The next morning You Ai finds the guys painting the front gate and demonstrates how it should be done. Shortly after Yin Yin arrives with cakes and coffee for the two guys claiming they need a break. With them all away, You Ai takes it upon herself to finish the gate painting.  Sheng Ren decides he is not in the mood for sweets and takes leave only to run into You Ai's mother in the kitchen. She is making glazed sweet potatoes and asked him to assist her. While trying out the finished sweet potatoes, You Ai's mother proceeds to apology for You Ai's behavior the other night. She explains that You Ai is just working hard so that her and her father don't have to. She then hands Sheng Ren money he has earned and informs him he is free to go whenever he wants. Sheng ren is taken aback by the kindness and does some pondering that night.

The next day You Ai is working on roof titles and ask Yin Yin to hold the ladder. When the two guys arrive Yin Yin gets distracted and trips on the ladder causing You Ai to fall and the guys to run to catch them. Everyone tumbles together and in the process Shi Long sprains his foot. They decide to take the boys back home so Shi Long can rest but the guys quickly realize they live in a five star hotel and not a house. After some quick thinking Sheng Ren remembers his family had an abandon resident in the city and they go there. Upon arrival, Yin Yin insist to go inside and then to prepare a proper meal for the guys. While eating they learn You Ai is a skilled cook but hides it from the family. After the meal, You Ai and Sheng Ren head back to the inn to complete the roof titles. While working on it Kai Hua (Wei Yi Lin) arrives and thinks the two are kissing and/or getting too close. He storms over to break the two up. You Ai tells Sheng Ren to go do some work in the garden and You Ai is left with an awkward chat with Kai Hua. Later Kai Hua finds Sheng Ren in the garden and challenges him to lifting bags of mature so Sheng Ren will stay away from You Ai. After Sheng Ren lets Kai Hua win they head inside to wash up. Kai Hua has gifts for the family which make You Ai find unnecessary.

Thoughts: A lot of stubbornness and pride from the two leads. Clearly they are both upset yet neither are willing to make the first steps to talking through the situation. I found it interesting having the two male leads living in a house compared to a hotel. Just because it sets them up with a new location for the next few months.

Love Family Ep 3 (recap)

EP 3

Sheng Ren asks if You Qing is married and she just smiles back at him leaves with her son. Yin Yin picks ups on strange vibes from the two guys and wonders why they care so much about You Qing when they are in relationship together. Shi Long quickly informs her they are not partners but just close friends.

Realizing his Angel is married and has a son, Sheng Ren is crushed and heartbroken. You Ai dismisses the guys strange behavior and puts them to work which Sheng Ren completes in a zombie state. Shi Long brings up since Sheng Ren's Angel is not available if they needed to continue working at the inn. Sheng Ren agrees these is no need and informs the Xu family they will be leaving.

You Ai is outraged to learn this and gets angrier when Sheng Ren offers to pay off the rest of their contract. She calls Sheng Ren a spoiled brat and accuses his parents of raising him poorly. This upsets Sheng Ren immensely and the guys leave the inn. Later that night Yin Yin comes over to talk to You Ai and asks her to reconsider having the guys stay. You Ai admits she would like them to stay but it was up to them.

The next morning, bright and early, Sheng Ren and Shi Long arrive ready to work, which surprises You Ai. Little does she know they  have an agenda of being petty and the slowest workers to spite You Ai and hopefully get fired/let go. You Ai's mother comes by and pulls her aside letting her know the guys are just upset with how they were spoken to and maybe she should apology. You Ai sets off to say sorry only to get into another argument with the guys. That night during dinner, You Ai  refuses them food which angers them even more and they get up and leave. We find out later You Ai is working so hard so her parents don't have to, since they have spent so much of their lives taking care of the family and inn.

Thoughts: Much like the last ep, You Ai is pretty hard on the guys (again) and I find her combative attitude towards them not useful. Especially if she want them around as future workers. It was comical to me how crushed Sheng Ren was to learn his supposed Angel was married with a child. It has been 20 years so you can't really expect someone not be maybe in a relationship or even married with a kid. His exceptions vs. reality was distorted.

Love Family Ep 2 (recap)

EP 2

You Ai puts Shang Ren and Shi Long straight away to work by gathering 100 bugs from the vegetable garden. While supervising them her childhood and family friend Yin Yin (Amanda Chou) arrives and inquires about the new hired help. It is then that the two girls decide the guys must be gay since they seem so attached and close. Later when the guys are cleaning up they have a water fight which just feeds into Yin Yin and You Ai's theory. In the end Shang Ren signs a contract saying they will work for low wages for a month. We are then introduced to the youngest of the Xu family You Meng (Rabbit Yang) who is currently attending university and enjoys cosplay. Given her young age Shang Ren rules her out as being his Angel so the only one left is the last sister who they have yet to meet.

The next day, You Qing (Yin Fu) arrives at the inn, the last sister. Instantly Shang Ren feels she must be the Angel he has been looking for, partly due to the fact that she has the three flowers stitched on her handbag. As the day moves along Sheng Ren tries to interact with You Qing as much as he can and is about to tell her about the handkerchief he has been carrying around for 20 years. Just then a little boy arrives with Yin Yin calling out mommy and running up to You Qing.

Thoughts: You Ai is pretty hard on the guys to a point where I'm surprised they put up with it but I guess she has her own reasons why she is so harsh. The acknowledgement of the men being gay or in a relationship is progressive for Asian culture but Taiwan is one of the more progressive countries regarding it.

Love Family Ep 1 (recap)

Going to attempt to finish a 72 ep Taiwanese drama and recap it. Granted the recaps will be brief but a way for me log the eps I have watched and to see how long it takes me :)

EP1

We meet You Ai Xu (Serena Fong) who is getting ready for a TV interview to promote the family inn called Happy House. The interview is chaotic and various characters are introduced (mother, father, family friends). Cut to Shang Ren Wan (Chris Wang), the heir to huge hotel brand getting his schedule rundown to him by his loyal assistant Shi Long (Jack Li). We learn he just works and goes on blind dates so he can be married off. He watches the video on the Happy House Inn and notices the symbol in the inn is the same as the handkerchief he has been holding on to since he was a small child. A random small girl gave it to him which he dubbed his Angel and has been looking for his whole life. He begs his mother to give him 100 days to try to find this Angel and if he unable to his parents can marry him to whoever they choose. They agree and off he goes to Happy House Inn.



On the first night there Sheng Ren and Shi Long go to the local mega market to buy food and run into You Ai, a misunderstanding occurs and next thing you know Sheng Ren and You Ai are competing for boxes of raman. They win and You Ai takes most of the boxes home leaving them just a few. The next morning when Sheng Ren and Shi Long arrive at the Happy House Inn to try to find Angel they are greeted by You Ai's mother but is informed the inn is booked solid due to the interview. After some quick thinking they inform her they there for the job posting. She calls You Ai over to interview them and they are all shocked to see each other. In the end You Ai decides to give them a trial run, though she finds them very close and odd together.

Thoughts: I recognized the mother, father and friends from other T dramas I watched but have never seen the two leads before in anything. It is setting up and introducing a lot a characters so hard to make a decision yet. I find it funny that Sheng Ren is so hung up on finding his Angel ... it seems a bit silly to hold on to one thing for 20 years but hey this is drama world.

Subbing ...

Been watching Asian dramas now for almost two years. In that time I've watching hours and hours of subbed dramas .. some fan subbed, some company subbed, some professional subbed and all with a bit of lost of translation going on. The fan subs are by far the worst but when you are desperate enough you take what you can get (Roger that). The company and professional subs are similar in that either a site (Netflix or Viki) will have more seasoned people go through the eps and translate it. It comes as close as it can but again ... everything gets lost in translation. 

The most frustrating thing I've encountered with watching Asian dramas has been the lack of subs on certain series. If a popular actor/actress is not in it or the subject matter isn't of interest you could be waiting for some unknown time for subs. The disappointment for me is the amount of K dramas that get subbed, they have endless amounts of subbers for them. Endless. And sadly K dramas are not my bread and butter. The only real pleasure I get is watching HK dramas subbed because I actually get most conversational Cantonese so the subbing is just additional information to me since I get usually most of the conversation :)

Posting ...

I wanted to post everyday or at least as much as I can for 2019 but given it is already 1 am that ship has sailed. I'm going to attempt to watch a movie a week this year. It seems like a small feat but given the two kiddos and time and lazy factor we shall see. I miss watching movies sometimes and I think I'm burnt out from all the drama watching. I completed at least 11 dramas and a few more that are very very close so the number could be more like 15 dramas. Drama watching can be a bit of a chore at times and with bad subs, it gets too hard to get through. I'll see how I do this year but I feel like I'll be scaling back some, hence my thought to maybe do movies instead.

2017 drama review

So I began this C drama journey last year when I was getting bored with US TV programming and the lack of Asian representation. I decided hey let's check out Asian TV series and venture into that realm. A year later, after going down that deep dark rabbit hole that is C dramas and the crazy nutty world it is I've watched little to none US shows and countless hours of Asian dramas. The amount of hours boggles the mind truly.

In review I ended 2017 with 12 completed dramas and countless uncompleted ones and more knowledge of C dramas and actors and actresses than ever before ... and I'm still greatly behind and in need of more. It has been fun and some dramas will have a special place with me always. When A Snail Falls In Love will always be my all time favorite drama for the introduction to Wang Kai Wai (the actor) and C dramas overall. 

For modern C dramas, though Pretty Li Hui Zhen and The Fox's Summer were silly, they were fun and I enjoyed them both ... even though they were over 40 eps and dragged at times. More school dramas were A Love So Beautiful, which was sweet and cute and Where the Lost Ones Go, which I found impressive. From the way it was shot to the acting to the storyline, it was very well done and independent. It definitely wasn't as formulaic as the rest of the C dramas I was use to watching. For historic C dramas, Three Lives Three Worlds aka Eternal Love was the drama of the year in China. It was very good and entertaining but it dragged at times with over 58 eps. Love Lost in Time sadly was not as entertaining even though it was well done and at 56 eps it was too much, I am still trying to finish. 

For K dramas, Fight My Way was my favorite for being the most slice of life and realistic as far a dramas could be. Strong Woman and Because This is My First Life though enjoyable had some issues, especially Because This is. For T dramas, Fated to Love You, although dated, was close to perfection in chemistry of leads and storytelling. That was a well done and executed drama. I found Behind Your Smile enjoyable as well but Attention, Love less so. The plus side of K and T dramas is the brevity of eps, most of them under 20 eps. I have yet to finish Bromance, a T drama, but I know upon completion this will be one of my favorite dramas due to the excellent chemistry of the two leads and fun gender bender storyline. 

Goals I have for this coming 2018 is watch more dramas to completion and try to always watch at least one HK drama so I can get better on my Cantonese and just be exposed to more HK stuff. 

Fated to Love You (T Drama review)

- Fated to Love You 24 episodes total / around an hour and 10 mins each. Chen Xin Yi (Joe Chen) is a lowly office girl nicknamed "sticky note girl" - someone who is helpful but unnecessary and easy to throw away. She goes on a cruise with her low life boyfriend who takes the time to meet an older richer woman. On the same cruise is Ji Cun Xi (Ethan Ruan), a wealthy heir to a soap and cleaning product company. He plans to use the cruise to propose to his long term ballerina dancer girlfriend Anna (Bianca Bai). Unfortunately, she is heading to NY for an opportunity of a lifetime, unknown to Ji Cun Xi. In a silly mix-up involving drugs and carelessness, Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up sleeping together and only realize their mistake the next morning. They agree to dismiss the whole incident and move on with their respected lives, until a few weeks later Xin Yi discovers she is is pregnant. Cun Xi learns of this and insist on an abortion only to change his mind and raise the baby as his own. In the process, they reluctantly get married and try living and dealing with each other. Ultimately it is unsuccessful and during one of their misunderstandings Xin Yi is hit by a car and loses the baby. Devasted Xin Yi takes this chance to move to Shanghai with her art dealer friend Dylan, who is attracted to her and Cun Xi patches things up with Anna but continues to search for the whereabouts of Xin Yi. Two years later, through a random occurrence the two run into each other in Shanghai and all the unresolved pains and issues come flooding back for the two of them. Cun Xi has realized he has always loved Xin Yi and wants her back and Xin Yi is dealing with moving on from her love for Cun Xi. In the end, the two reconcile and get married again and have a baby together.

I was on the fence about watching this since it was from 2008 and felt and looked super dated, however I'm glad I watched. Although silly at times, it was a strong drama with two amazing leads. The chemistry and connection between Joe Chen and Ethan Ruan was so spot on. When Xin Yi loses the baby, her cries and grief were so heartbreaking and Cun Xi's devastation of not being able to protect Xin Yi and the baby was tragic. The storyline with Anna and Dylan being long lost brother and sister was a bit dull and flat, mainly because I didn't care much for Anna. Dylan was alright and a good friend to Xin Yi. I appreciated how he helped her to gain the confidence she needed within her life. I really enjoyed the interaction of Xin Yi and her mother and sisters, even when they were over the top and silly they watched out and cared for each other. Same could be said for Anson, Cun Xi's loyal and trusted assistant as well as Cun Xi's grandmother, who was so welcoming and loving.

The Fox's Summer (C Drama review)

- The Fox's Summer (Fox Fall in Love) 44 episodes total / around 45 mins each. Li Yan Shu (Tan Song Yun) is an independent free spirited woman who plays by her own rules even if that means lying to get what she wants. She is considered a fox by some. She has recently returned to Beijing to work as a designer. Gu Cheng Ze (Jiang Chao) is the president of a large department store and adopted grandson of the Gu family who owns and operates the department store. Gu Cheng Ze is extremely OCD and can tell when people are liars, to a point where he has allergic reactions. He is considered the rabbit because of how clean and clever he is. Gu Jinyu (Daniel Zhang) is the rightful heir to the department store corporation but is lazy and spoiled. Cheng Ze and him have a brotherly and loving relationship. Jinyu changes his ways once he learns Lin Yan Shu (his old high school sweetheart) is one of the designers at the department store and begins to pursue her. Through various twist of events Gu Cheng Ze and Li Yan Shu's lives intertwine and they fall in love.

Due to lack of proper subbing it took me awhile to finish the series, around five months. Overall, I enjoyed the drama but it had very strong Mainland China vibes, from the clothing to mannerism. The biggest selling point of the drama was Tan Song Yun. Her personality and acting was contagious and entertaining. She came off very cute and fun loving and never annoying or dull. On the other hand, some of Jiang Chao's acting in the first half was so stiff and robotic it was painful to watch. He improved greatly the second half when he was more casual and relaxed. The interaction between the two leads during the drama were so heartbreaking, they really cared and loved each other but had family issues they had to overcome to get there. I hugely enjoyed watching them together. Sadly then there was the two second leads, who were just awful in the first half of the series because they had such childish and flat storylines. Luckily the writing changed cause the second half they were much more tolerable and I actually really grew to like the Gu Jinyu character. By far the worst characters were Li Yan Shu's mother and Jiang Chao's adopted grandmother, they were petty and shrewd and just plain narrow minded. I didn't get their line of thinking or lack there of. There was additional storylines with the male sectary, which was a real bore and the next door neighbor who was a delight!! The OST was cute but the opening one for the drama reminded me a lot of a Mentos commercial, it was so much like a jingle.

Fight For My Way (K Drama review)

- Fight For My Way: 16 episodes total / around an hour and 10 mins each. In the first ep, we are introduced to the Fantastic Four - Ko Dong-man (Park Seo-joon), a former taekwondo player who had a bright future ahead of him until a match ruined everything and made him a nameless fighter. Choi Ae-ra (Kim Ji-won), a department store employee who has big dreams of becoming an announcer and working for the major news outlet. Kim Joo-man (Ahn Jae-hong), a marketing manager trying to move up the ranks at the home shopping network company. He has been dating his girlfriend Baek Seol-hee , who works at the same company, in secret for six years. Baek Seol-hee (Song Ha-yoon), the pure and innocent one in the group who works in customer service at the home shopping network company and has been dating Kim Joo-man in secret.

As the series progresses, Ae-ra and Dong-man begin to move out of friend realm into being in a relationship and adapting to that change given their 20 plus years of friendship. That was sweet to watch because the dialogue between the two was so honest. It is hard not to be upfront to someone who has known you for more than half your life. On the flip side, Seol-hee and Joo-man are seeing the cracking in their six year relationship, especially when a pretty and young intern starts to aggressively pursue Joo-man. Although the main leads/couple was Ae-ra and Dong-man and their relationship and reaching their goals in life, Seol-hee and Joo-man's relationship was great to breakdown and analyze. Here was a couple who seemed perfect on the outside but were suffering and had issues. It was only after they split up did they go and find themselves and better their relationship. When Seol-hee confessed all she wanted in life was to be a good wife and mother, though it seems simple to others, it was so fitting for her and heartwarming. She was by far the sweetest and purest character and her change and development over the series was great to watch.

Overall, this was refreshing to watch for a number of reasons, the biggest one being there was no rich CEO, these characters were NOT well off and they dressed terribly. If felt very real to life or at least a snapshot of what life is like for 30 year olds in Korea. Yes some parts were a bit much (like the landlord being Ae-ra's long lost mother and the random adopted son storytelling) but hey this is still a K drama. The OST for this series was fun and had some great songs.

Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon (K Drama review)

- Strong Woman Do Bong-soon: 16 episodes total / around an hour and 10 mins each. Do Bong-Soon (Park Bo-Young) was born with superhuman strength; passed along only to the women in her family. She dreams of working for a video game company and developing her own game based on a character with her super powers. She secretly has been crushing on her long time friend and cop In Gook-Doo (Ji Soo) who has no clue she is interested in him. Along comes rich gaming company CEO Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), who witnesses Do Bong-soon strength one day and hires her as his personal bodyguard since he has been getting anonymous treats and blackmail to his business. While all this is happening, a series of kidnapped women in Do Bong-Soon's neighborhood is going on and there is business with gangsters and high school kids treating Do Bong-Soon like their master.

This was my first attempt at a Korean drama and I was on the fence. I only started it because the premise and the interaction between the two leads was interesting. I enjoyed the strong female character who was trying to figure out how to use her powers for good and basically not hating the fact she had this special gift of incredible strength. The interaction with the mother, who was powerless, and her father and twin brother, added another dynamic. The mother had lost her power because once it is used for personal gain or if someone innocent is harmed, the strength is removed.

The strongest part of the series had to be between the two leads - Do Bong-soon and Anh Min-hyuk. Their fondest and growing attracting to each other was just a joy to watch and you couldn't help finding yourself grinning and smiling like a doofus. They were just so stinking cute and not in an annoying way. Park Bo-Young is so small and adorable she played the role perfectly and Park Hyung-sik was goofy and oddball at times that the two were a great match. It was refreshing to see the male lead act like the female, being all silly and giddy and at times insecure with his affection and love for Do Bong-soon.

The weakest part of the series was the endless goofiness of the mother and her friends visiting the fortune teller, the endless gangster interactions, the pointless conflict with the gaming director and the high school kids who worshiped Do Bong-soon. Those all got tiresome very quickly. Thankfully the main leads saved what could have been a disaster of a series. As for the OST for this show, it had a few good tunes but nothing I found myself listening to all the time.

Behind Your Smile (T Drama review)

- Behind Your Smile: 19 episodes total / around an hour and 10 mins each. Zhao Yi Ting (Marcus Chang) has spent the last 12 years seeking revenge against Lin Man, the woman who caused his family much unhappiness with the lost of his father and family farm. On the day Lin Man is to report herself to the authorities, her daughter Lei Xin Yu (Eugenie Liu) arrives from studying aboard.Through various chance encounters Yi Ting and Xin Yu lives end up intertwining and slowly Xin Yu's naive, gentle and kind ways melt Yi Ting's cold heart.

This was my first Taiwanese drama. The show took some time warming up to. It was unclear Yi Ting's intentions with Xin Yu were and Xin Yu came off too naive, almost stupid. After a few eps. you realized he never planned to harm her but just use her as an end to a means and they toned down Xin Yu's behavior. The two main leads had great chemistry and played off each other well. You cheered and rooted for them in the end. Yi Ting's relationship with his brother Zhong Qian Ren and his mother were sweet and heartwarming. The family dynamic was really nice to watch and I really enjoyed most of their interactions. Xin Yu's relationship with Jian XiaoYue, the roommate, was fun. They were such a great fit for each other given their different personalities.

Marcus Chang was very handsome and all the suits and outfits they put him in made it easy to watch him. Eugenie Liu was cute and not in that annoying cutesy way. I will say at some points I questioned the production value because it came off very low budget during some scenes. Like Yi Ting's office was a joke when he was suppose to be CEO of a company, it was pretty sad.  The strongest thing about this series had to be be soundtrack. They had some of the best songs and it fit the scenes in the drama well. I find myself listening to it way after the show has concluded.

Pretty Li Hui Zhen (C Drama review)

- Pretty Li Hui Zhen: 40 episodes total / around 45 mins each. Li Hui Zhen (Dilmurat Dilraba) use to be pretty, but years of declining family fortune added much pain to her life, and her looks slowly started to fade. Her childhood friend Bai Hao Yu (Peter Sheng), on the other hand, was once a chubby fat kid who was bullied and picked on as a youth has grown up to be a suave and successful business man. When they cross paths to meet years later, Li Hui Zhen is too embarrassed to show her real self so she has her stylish good friend Xia Qiao (Sierra Li) to pretend to be her. The only down side is Bai Hao Yu is actually her boss at her new job. Over time Bai Hao Yu begins to fall for Li Hui Zhen without realizing it is his true long lost childhood friend. At the same time coworker Lin Yimu (Zhang Bin Bin) is also developing feelings for Li Hui Zhen as well.

This series is a remake of the 2015 Korean one She Was Pretty. They made it more than twice as long at the Korean one but I think it worked to flush out the characters. Although I didn't watch She Was Pretty, I enjoyed this series quite a bit. Dilmurat was so charming as Li Hui. She made the character likable and cute and dorky at the same time. It was funny because Dilmurat is so pretty it was hard to find her "ugly" as she was suppose to be in the drama. Her good friend Xia Qiao, on the other hand, wasn't very likable given she deceives Li Hui by continuing to pretend to be her to Bai Hao. This just adds confusion to Bai Hao who continues thinking Xia Qiao is the real Li Hui, his long lost childhood friend. In the end, the friendship was saved but in real life it is unlikely it would have played out that way. Zhang Bin Bin did an amazing job as Lin Yimu, the coworker who falls for Li Hui. The range of emotions and confessions he give to her is heartwarming and breaking. He loves her so much and yet can't have her. Unfortunately the weak spot was Peter Sheng as Bai Hao. Although a good looking guy, Peter could not express his emotions as naturally or well as Zhang Bin Bin. He often came off as stiff and robotic. It was a real shame because he was the main lead but was often overshadowed by Zhang Bin Bin's character. There were a few scenes were Peter did a great job but it wasn't enough for the drama. I still enjoyed watching the two main leads but Dilmurat really saved most of those scenes.

As for the additional cast who played the office coworkers, all of them were great and so fun. The office dynamic enjoyable even when sometimes it dragged and went on too long. The soundtrack for the series was great especially with that one duet.