The Rational Life (2021)

Longtime Coming !

For years I've put off watching this drama. Initially after reading the synopsis I felt a little uncomfy potentially seeing Dylan wang play the ML who falls in love with his superior. I thought the storyline would be a little weird and similar to the drama "Find Yourself." Surprisingly I actually enjoyed "find yourself" after giving it a chance but it was something about this drama that I assumed I wouldn't like. I can confidently say after finally finishing it, that I found it to be very enjoyable. The storyline had a lot of depth and the lead characters were very likable (not counting FL's mother).
The FL was extremely formidable and excelled at her job. She had amazing leadership skills in the workplace and I loved her tenacity. Especially when it came to dealing with hardships at work and how she handled them in such a professional matter. As a woman many men found her ambition and capability to be threatening and would try to evoke emotional responses out of her. In every circumstance she remained calm, and used reasoning and "rationality" to find a suitable solution to the problem. I found this to be incredibly refreshing and inspiring as a young woman in the work field who has ambitions on her own. I suggest other young women watch this drama as it shows how to resolve workplace conflict in such a professional but also direct way that leaves no room for misunderstanding. I found the ML to be a good character as well in that he was very likable and advanced the storyline. One issue I had with the ML was that his character wasn't written with nearly as much depth as the FL. As we see her progress in the workplace, we only see the ML follow her around like a puppy dog for majority of the drama. I will also mention that I initially liked their mentorship in the beginning where the FL showed the ML the reins at work. My issue began when it became apparent that they started having feelings for each other and the ML almost totally lost his depth. I also believed the writers knew the potential conflict of interest by having the FL and ML work together which is why he suddenly resigned from his job. I feel like all progress in the ML's character was lost after he set his sights on the FL. I wish that the writers would've gave him clear path and not fit him in to advance the storyline. I also took issue with how the end of the series stopped focusing on workplace politics and almost entirely focused on the romance between the FL/ML. I felt it was rushed and wasn't paced correctly. Throughout the entire drama the FL should've started to show some interest in the ML earlier and not wait until the end of the drama to finally embrace her feelings. The pacing was a little off and some characters lacked depth which made the FL outshine nearly all other characters. But for the most part I'd say this drama was enjoyable and I'd recommend people watch it. It has a lot of valuable lessons that are important for young professionals to learn.

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Not your typical Chinese drama - the female lead is strong

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese romantic drama with 35, 45 minute episodes. It is also known as “The Woman Who Cannot Fall In Love”.

First I will provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis
Shen Ruo Xin (Quin Lan) has climbed the ladder of success through much personal sacrifice. Her overbearing mother and even friends are pressuring her to get married and her current boyfriend is the number one candidate. At 33 she is at the upper end of what her culture considers acceptable for single life so she is reminded frequently she is breaking norms by remaining single. a man and marry. Ruoxin already defies the traditional role by navigating corrupt office politics and serving as both a counselor and a mentor to subordinates. Despite being so capable and providing a shield for those around her, no one looks out for her that is until she gives Qi Xiao (Dylan Wang), a newbie, a chance and he becomes her biggest support. He is younger than her, but really smart. mature and caring.

Review
I enjoyed this slice of the life of a businesswoman in Shanghai. As I understand it, Shanghai, in the upper class of people, it is a very specific slice of life in China. Still, I enjoyed getting a feel for it knowing it is very specific and would only be true for a very small percentage of people. Women have many of the same struggles with promotions, recognition, bias, that women all over the world experience but at a greater level because their society is still very patriarchal. Seeing Ruoxin operate where she took care of all the people around her, managed some very hostile and extreme workplace politics and managed through her skill and expertise to overcome many barriers was a lot of fun. Her relationship with the male lead was well paced and believable. Qi Xiao's unwavering admiration, love and support of her would be sure to wear down any woman's defenses.

*Spoilers
The 12 year age gap was a significant part of the story and I think brought up a lot of social issues not only within that culture but beyond as well. My daughter, in her 30s, who watched it with me felt as though that age gap was too large. She was of similar age and could not envision having a relationship with a man that much younger than her. Not all women feel that way. I thought about if there was a person who you were completely compatible with and attracted to and thought they were similar age but then found out they were that much younger would it change the way you felt about the person. I think it is highly dependent on the people and what ages each person is. In the younger years it may have more of an impact than someone in their 30s with someone in their 40s, or 40s with 50s, I think it is harder to envision that large of an age gap when the younger person is in their 20s. Life stages, interests, so many things are different in the 20s. So that, for me, was a little hard to accept, the large age gap.

The story itself was engaging and kept me interested through all 32 episodes. She really was phenomenal in her ability to bring everyone around her along in her goals and vision. From that perspective it was understandable how someone his age and as handsome as he was to have considered her unique and want to pursue her romantically. He was a very bright person who was able to think rationally under pressure and solve many problems. So he was her match in terms of his above average ability to accomplish things. I could see the point that was made about how younger men were no longer viewing women as simply someone to take care of the household but were respecting them as capable to do something as high powered and complex as Ruoxin was pursuing. That was a good justification for why the age gap between them worked. Part of the reason she never found anyone she felt compatible with was because men of her age still had a view of women as maybe dabbling in the workforce until they found a man to take care of them. Qi Xiao understood and appreciated Ruoxin's goals and capabilities and it was part of what he loved about her.

If you are looking for a relatively light hearted romance this fits the bill. If you are a fan of Dylan Wang as I am then you will like to see him in this role, he does a great job. This is also of course an age gap/noona romance. I became a fan of Dylan Wang after seeing him in Meteor Garden. I will be looking for other things Quin Lan has done after watching this drama as she is a very talented actress. I am not, in general, a fan of Chinese dramas as I find the female characters to be weak and sort of whiny. I watched this at the recommendation of it having a strong female character and it did not disappoint.

#RationalLife
#DylanWang
#QuinLan

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una buon excursus in Cina

Dopo aver visto tantissime serie TV coreane, questo excursus in Cina ci è piaciuto. Nonostante certe similitudini, parliamo comunque di 2 mondi diversi. Abbiamo apprezzato il fatto che nonostante la serie sia molto "SOFT" è riuscita comunque ad tenerci appiccicati alla TV. Questo perchè contrariamente ad altre serie non ci sono quelle puntate che noi chiamiamo transitorie e/o di riempimento. Quelle che non apportano nulla alla trama/storia e che spesso sono anche ridicole e stancanti.
Qui, comunque la trama offriva 4-5 situazioni degne di essere seguite e che per tanto riempivano bene ogni singolo episodio.

Ammettiamo, che forse il finale è stato un po troppo Happy-Ending, visto che oltre all'amore anche a livero lavorativo tutto è andato nel verso giusto. Insomma, una favola !
Alla fine, a noi interessava vedere se RUO XIN avesse trovato il giusto equilibrio tra la sua razionalità e i sentimenti, se la madre di RIO XIN (tipica madre tossica asiatica insopportabile - almeno nella prima parte della storia) avrebbe capito che i pregiudizzi non servono a nulla e che l'amore non ha età. Il "giovanotto" QI XIAO alla fine, nonstante qualche conferma di immaturità si è dimostrato esattamente quel tipo di persona su misura per una donna con la storia, i sentimenti e il carattere come RUO XIN.

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All too relatable; An open letter/drama to the independent woman in her late 20s and early 30s.

You can be female and focus on your career, but still don't want to be alone.
You can be in a marriage, but still want to be independent and have your own voice.

When women are in their teens or 20s, society and dramas depict a dream-like fairytale that you can have an epic romance, live a dream job or get married, have kids and happy ending.

However,
- What if you don't want to get married?
- What if you'd rather prove that you can hold your own career path?
- What if you don't want kids?
- What if you were a housewife for 15 years and want to pursue new hobbies in your 40s?
- What happens if you quit your job in your early 20s to go travelling and decide you want to work again in your late 30s?
- What happens if you didn't want kids when you got married in your 20s, but now want kids in your late 30s; is it too late?

This drama opens the world to reality yet adds a glimmer of magic which makes it the hopeful story that it is. The idiosyncrasies at every corner of the drama can make one tear and connect with the main cast and say "I understand, I do/say that sometimes". Although subtle, you see it from the first few episodes where the female lead put a timer to cry in the workplace bathroom cubicle or eating instant noodles after work because she didn't have time to cook, to the episodes where she was alienated from meetings or working from the hospital bed.

Romance is the last word I would use to describe the connections in this drama. This drama showcases how relationships develop when people have genuine respect for each other, can work through multiple facades of problems together, support each other, and have the same core values. This is unlike the dramas where main leads fell in love at first sigt or some tug-o-war "I love you but I don't moments". While I acknowledge that there are scenes like this, the responses aren't over-dramatised and situations flow like you are part of the story. Additionally, it also shows what happens after the "honeymoon" period of young love, what struggles does a couple go through in their late 30s? On the flip side to the above, it shows what happens when couples can't resolve these problems together, don't respect or support each other, and push their values on to their partner.

The balance between "romance" and office politics was ingenious. The way the female lead suggests solutions to a problem such as the legal and sales department restructure to the willingness to approach new sales ideas with the support of data. These little details makes it assuring to watch that it's not just pure luck but hard work, effort and tactics by her or her employees that helped her through those work obstacles or political troubles.

As a single working woman in her late 20s while writing this review, the main female lead's rationalism, decisions, determination to stand up for the powerless, focus on her goals yet desire to remain child-like, be with her family and eat junk food, was all too relatable. "Some women have thorns all over their body because they're afraid of being abandoned or hurt". This is the first fictional slice-of-life that I could appreciate and connect to. Would this resonate with me if I was younger or older? I don't know, I'll definitely want to watch again to find out.

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秦岚 is a revelation

I tend to watch K-Dramas, despite being Chinese, so I came into this show without too many expectations. Whatever expectations I did have were completely overwhelmed by the third episode. This is one of the exceedingly rare shows where the chemistry between the actors works together so completely that you can't help but think they have to have at least some feelings for each other in real life. This doesn't just apply to the romantic relationships either, as the friendships, family, and work relationships all come across as genuine and captivating. Aside from the acting, the topic matter (young adult life in a competitive city) and story mesh together so well and is surely relatable for many of us.
For all of the special aspects of this show, the strongest by far is 秦岚's star power. It is beautifully ironic that her hobby in this show is stargazing, as her smile could light up the entirety of Shanghai ~~

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O casal demora pra ficar junto

A série tem 35 episódios, mas o casal só engata a partir do episódio 25. Antes disso, se tem 2 ou 3 cenas deles sem graça um com o outro é muito. Pra mim esse foi o ponto fraco pq a história fica arrastada e eu só continuei por causa dos personagens que são legais. Porém, por mais que esse seja o ponto fraco, pensando pelo lado positivo ela não relutou em aceitar o namoro. Assim que ele se declara ela já aceita ficar com ele e o casal é muito fofo e maduro. Não assistiria novamente pq tanto o romance do casal principal quanto do secundário só se desenrola a partir do episódio 25, mas depois dele é cada cena mais fofa do que a outra.

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Determination

Okay I did not expect anything wonderful out of this drama, however, I did find myself skipping through some episodes and often fast forwarding a few times.

I love the ML which is probably the only reason I decided to watch it.

The story line was okay, in the sense that the FL was determined to prove her self in a all male working environment and to get a name for her self, the challenges she faced while trying to climbing the ladder. I did at times find that her mother was a bit to much and very pushy, having been a 33 year old and still trying to treat her as a child, and setting up dates etc. for her and just way to pushy for my liking, at the end of the day she was an adult and had the right to choose her own path. The romance was not a big factor for me, but there personal growth, on their life and work.

Dylan Wang finally got a role, where he shines! and shows brilliant acting skill. His expressions, liveliness is very natural as if it's not acting its real self.

Overall an inspirational drama.

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I beg to differ

After reading the other reviews of this Drama I was hopeful that this might FINALLY be a C Drama free of the patronising patriarchal propaganda that poisons almost every C Drama I've tried to watch. Sadly, it was not. I stuck it out for 10 episodes, but by then I'd had enough - ESPECIALLY of the way the young rookie ML took over the FL's life

Other reviewers have praised this as a realistic office Drama, but I can' agree. The ML is a rookie, very young AND an intern on probation, but despite that, within a month not only is he quite insanely possessive of his boss, he's also compltely forgotten the concept of "personal space" If any PA physically intruded on their boss like that in any of the offices I know, that PA would not last long.

This is a 35 episode Drama, yet instead of taking its time to develop the romantic relationship, we already see the ML portrayed as the physical saviour of the FL in multiple occasions within the first 5 episodes. By episode 10, we're also "treated" to the sight of HIM telling her how to do her job. It's this which was the last straw for me, because it's SO depressingly common in C Dramas - no matter how skilled and competent a woman is at her job, she ALWAYS needs a man to teach her - in this case a man barely out of college and with zero prior work experience at all.

If you're after a Drama featuring a good looking OTP, then by all means try this one. If you want a Drama that gives token lip service to the idea of female empowerment while perpetuating Chinese chauvinism, this Dram would be PERFECT. But if you want Drama that ACTUALLY celebrates independent women who don't need to be protected and tutored by males, look elsewhere.

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One of the best modern cdrama with realistic plot

What i love about this drama is that they're so realistic and not ridiculous at all for cdrama. For once, this cdrama centred around main characters with COMMON ordinary background (not typical cdrama where one of the main character is rich and fall in love with the poor main character). The story also talk about real life struggle for people nowadays in our society. Also, i like the female character so much. Other people see her as 'perfect' independent woman when irl she has a lot flaws. Totally love Qin Lan's acting as Shen Ruoxin. Highly recommended drama if you want to watch slice of life drama.

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So Comforting and Exciting.

I actually had thought of a headline for my review in myb the 33th or 34th episode but ofc I forgot it when I continued watching this drama until the end. But truly this drama was so comforting to me. I've never been so engrossed in each episode of a drama that every time when each episode ended, I would exclaimed... "wait, ended already?". Like it just suck me in. This drama was about Rouxin's overcoming her difficulties navigating her career and her life with her loyal assistant, Qi Xiao alongside her.

Male Lead, Qi Xiao, a young man that only joined a big company to get a job and got mesmerised by his capable lady boss. He was smart, creative, loyal, hard working and quite a smooth talker. Ended up swearing loyalty to his boss, the FL bcs she tried her best to protect him, her newbie assistant when she was kicked out of her position and slowly he got to know her and fell in love with her as a person. You should see how he described her bcs you can truly see how in love he was with her. (I'm very bad at putting all this into words I'm sorry, but he was so amazing to her). Qi Xiao as a man in love, always be there with Ruoxin together solving problems, willing to do anything she wanted, protective of her, worried so much about her and very affectionate. He was so sweet. The length he went through to make her happy my god.

Female Lead, Shen Ruoxin, a woman in her early thirties that was very goal oriented but got derailed bcs of jealous men in power threatened by her performance in the legal department. At first, it seems like Ruoxin was cold and unapproachable to others but actually, Ruoxin was an independent, straightforward, wise, rational, graceful, righteous and courageous woman that strived to do her best in her field. She didn't back down when she literally was kicked to the curb by the company's vice president but she moved forward, learned her lessons and a bit by bit she succeeded advancing her career to the top accompanied by her loyal assistant later her boyfriend, ML Qi Xiao. She was impressed by the persistent of Qi Xiao to be her assistant and she won his loyalty when she willing to put her career on the line to help him keep his job bcs she knew it was unfair that he got dragged down as her assistant. She didn't desire a relationship and marriage bcs she prioritised her career and partially coz of her parents. Gradually, she saw how sincere Qi Xiao was to her, fell head over heels because of his actions repeatedly showed how much thoughtful he was to her, that he accepted and understands all of her as a person. Ruoxin also protective of ML and wanted to do everything that she could to help him.

I definitely love that this drama also showed other couples struggles and how they got back together , Ziyan (FL's bff) with her husband and Su Yang (Qi Xiao's bff) with Sijia.

Special shoutout to Qi Xiao's mom for being so supportive of QX relationship with Rx, trusting and loving her son so much. Well... Unlike the other mom *eyes rolls* but thankfully she came to her sense bcs she got to witness how they love each other.

Love most of Rouxin's office attires and ofc Qi Xiao, fashionable as always.

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Occasione mancata

Nonostante io abbia iniziato questo drama principalmente per ritrovare Dylan Wang dopo aver visto Meteor Garden, la trama mi incuriosiva molto, specialmente per la differenza di età tra i due protagonisti e il fatto che fosse la donna la persona più adulta. Purtroppo però il drama è davvero lento e decisamente troppo focalizzato sulle questioni lavorative, lasciando poco spazio ai personaggi, alle relazioni e ai diversi temi che emergono (es: la frustrazione di non trovare lavoro, l'indecisione sul mettere al mondo un figlio, ecc.).
I protagonisti mi piacciono però non sono riuscita ad affezionarmi, li ho trovato piuttosto piatti e monocorde. Di conseguenza, a mio parere, anche la recitazione ne ha risentito visto che non vi è stata l'occasione per gli attori di esprimersi al meglio.
Ho deciso di droppare il drama perché davvero soporifero, ad ogni finale di puntata non avevo la minima curiosità di sapere come proseguiva.

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