Nothing But Love (2023)

Romance in the small things

If you think Duan Jiaxu is the epitome of the Green Flag, just wait until you meet Song San Chuan.

I've always liked Leo Wu Lei, but when I saw his latest drama, 'Nothing But You,' a sports romance series, I thought, 'Nope, not gonna watch this, it looks boring.' But man, was I wrong.

It was a really good, uplifting story. Quoting thefangirlverdict.com, 'romance in the small things.' I was skeptical about the age gap at first, but the female lead (FL) and male lead (ML) supported each other in their careers, and it was as romantic as any romance drama can get. I almost wish they would get together in real life.

I don't play tennis at all, but watching Wu Lei play tennis in this drama makes me want to try it out as well. Haha. I think this underdog theme in the drama is truly motivational and worth watching. Anyway, this drama has made it to my list of favorite dramas of all time

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light easy not-so-sporty "sports" drama

I really wish this show would've focused more on the sports aspect. You can't really call this one a true sports drama; yes, there is a sports focus, but most of the sports in it are training and talk about rosters and more training. There were maybe 2 actual matches shown in this show, which I find to be ridiculous because the show is 38 episodes and they could've fit in way more matches for the run time. The best parts of the show were the episodes focused on a tournament or match. This show could easily have been maybe a 9.5/10 if a bunch more high-intensity competitions were added.

I didn't mind the age gap too much. I would say the chemistry was pretty good up until ML and FL actually got together, then they weren't so believable as a couple. I found myself skipping most of the last few episodes of them being a couple because it just wasn't too interesting honestly. I liked Wu Lei's pining and devotion toward Zhou Yu Tong's character. This role really suited him so well, he made the character very believable. Wu Lei playing a younger man who is vibrant and pining for the older character works very well. He is indeed, very young, so this type of role suits him very well in my opinion. Zhou Yu Tong aka Liang Yu Tong is very likable also. She has more to her than just being in love with Leo Wu. She actually doesn't act on her feelings for Song Sang Chuan (Wu Lei) up until around episode 30. I enjoyed that. Liang Yu Tong is a very independent, strong working woman who is very driven towards her work. She is a workaholic and not hypnotized by the "glimmer" which could be falling in love. She knows she can do just fine on her own, if not better. I like how this show emphasizes that you do not need to fall in love to feel like a whole person. You can be very much fine and happy on your own and along the way of living you may meet someone who you fall in love with, but that doesn't and should not define you.

Is this show repetitive? Yes, I would say so. Would I describe it as boring. Yup, kind of was. 4/5ths of it is Song Sang Chuan training, there's a training montage, Liang Yu Tong managing the tennis team, then she's watching him or helping him out, and then you have a scene where they are interacting with each other, helping each other solve some problems, rinse and repeat. Although it was repetitive I would say it was moderately entertaining. I didn't skip most of the show and I didn't drop it.

I would say that this show is very easy to watch, it makes good background noise and once you do want to pay attention you won't be lost in what is going on. I would watch this show one week then spend other weeks doing something else and come back to the show and still be engaged and not confused. I really enjoyed the easiness of the show. If you are looking for something very intense and emotionally provoking then I would skip this one.

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I can't imagine Song Sanchuan and Liang You'an other than Wu Lei and Zhou Yutong

This drama could have ended for around 25-30 eps. It was a unique drama and the usual sports drama tropes are present. There are certain arcs too that are dragging and could be down to lessen the ep but nonetheless, these didn't really watered down the quality of this amazing drama.
They really delivered the Chinese title (Nothing but Love) of this drama very well. I cannot really imagine having a different Song Sanchuan and Liang You'an other than Wu Lei and Zhou Yutong. Their interaction on screen are sooooooo natural to the point that I felt that it's like an invasion of privacy watching their sweet moments lol, I wouldn't also mind if they have a dating scandal after this, I totally root for them!

All the feels watching this last ep, I was smiling and giggling for the whole 40 minutes.


Just want to recap the highlights of the Ep 38:

- Mr. Gao Li and Jiang Jie's friendship is not the friendship we all asked for but gave to us with wholesome conviction. We know they are both scheming and always on each others neck but to see them joke around (even Jiang Jie splashing water to Gao Li), its so kind of like... "I know you are somewhat a bad guy, but you deserve a nice scene too." lol

- Jiang Jie watching to reconcile with Chen Ke. I was actually hoping or more like anticipating that Chen Ke will welcome back her husband again, rekindle their romance in some sort. We can also see that Jiang Jie wanted it too to happen. But when we saw how happy and vibrant Chen Ke was telling about her younger boyfriend, it was kind of melancholic how she and Jiang Jie parted ways in front of the Top Smash entrance. The feeling of relief and sadness that their toxic relationship ended well but not everyone moved on.

- Lu Nian and Coach Yan lol, I really like how after two years, Lu Nian finally gave her car key to Coach Yan lololol, all his advances finally paid off!

- Jiaojiao and Tao finally renting a house. I have been commenting about it a couple of times in earlier eps and finally, this couple settled down and started viewing relationship and marriage in a more serious way.

- Here I thought they have forgotten about Eel San, but noooo they made it happen to it's screen time, yeheyyyy

- I also love how this drama highlights that usual "LDR welcome back run and hug scene" that has been overused. How You'an was all in shocked, relieved and dazzled by Sanchuan's appearance. The unfamiliarity that you will when the person you love just came back after months of separation. It was so realistic.

- And finally, that epilogue scene is SO SOLID. Love how they gave us a peek on their married life.

SONG SANCHUAN and LIANG YOU'AN, Thank you for giving my Mar-April 2023 a heavy dose of serotonin <3

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Sometimes giving up is more brave than trudging along

Liang Youan is an early 30s professional woman who has been stuck in her role as an Executive Assistant for years. Extremely competent, her boss loathes to let her leave and grow in her career because she's so valuable. She meets Song Sanchuan, a young 20s badminton player, whose athleticism and kind heart strikes her, but he's consumed by his own demons and is not able to break out of a losing rut.

Together, they decide to revitalize an unprofitable tennis club, with Song Sanchuan changing professions from badminton to tennis at the ripe age of 22, unheard of as a professional athlete. They slowly but steadily fall in love, and overcome the perceived divide that their 10 year age gap causes.

This is a lovely story with high production quality and well-written, memorable lines. I really enjoyed the first 30 episodes, as the pacing was good and story developed in a way that kept you interested. However, I think the story would have been better with just 30 episodes and filler content about side couples and Liang Youan's boss cut out.

The acting is superb, Wu Lei and Zhou Yutong looked so natural, especially in the sweet romantic scenes. My favorite supporting character is Song Sanchuan's dad though, as he provided sage advice and comic relief, and supported their romance from the very beginning. What was refreshing was that even though there were flawed, dislikeable characters (e.g. Liang Youan's mom), the leads were cognizant of those faults and biases, and did not let misunderstandings develop between them instigated by these flawed characters.

As a sports drama, I did wish that the tennis scenes were better. I got tired of seeing cuts of Wu Lei hitting a tennis ball and then another cut directly to him waving the trophy. I felt like Ping Pong with Bai Jing Ting was able to shoot the actual competition much better, and you actually saw significant growth in technique as an athlete. Overall, very good nianxia (older woman younger man) drama that I would recommend to slice of life and romance fans alike.

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Great Actors + Great Acting + Great Plot = Enjoyable Watch :)

I was looking forward to this drama after knowing that Leo Wu would be starring in it. It is quite obvious that I am quite a fan of this fine, young actor. Leo Wu can act so well. It is not a dread but a joy to watch him on screen. (Some actors cannot even be called actors as they cannot act at all.) Leo Wu is truly a fine, young actor and having watched different dramas in which he has starred in, I must say that he adds sparkle to these dramas because he is truly in character and very believable as the character that he is acting as.

What I liked about this drama:
- Fine acting from everyone in this drama especially the ML and FL.
- I liked that their relationship developed quite organically and that it was not forced or super one-sided. Rather, both parties fell in love and truly liked each other. What held them back was their 10 year age gap which is actually quite a large age difference. I liked that the drama explored this topic openly and pointed out that there would be challenges due to this pretty large age gap. I also liked that they decided that they would face the challenges together. The relationship was treated quite maturely and thoughtfully.
- Liang Tao ended up not being a hateful b*tch which I appreciated a lot. The sisters ended up helping each other and looking out for each other despite having different mothers. I was quite heartwarming. I liked that their relationship was realistically portrayed too.
- An Cong, ML's "father", was such a nice man. He looked out for his "son" and provided some comic relief.
- The drama showcased the difficulties faced by sportspeople and how they really challenge themselves physically for the sake of their sport. The "shelf-life" of sportspeople is short and this point was highlighted by the drama.
- The supporting cast members, like the coach, FL's best friend and other sportspeople, were great in the drama (but not-so-memorable).
- Intelligent and realistic script/ plot with some very meaningful lines.
- Happy ending.

What I disliked about this drama:
- Jiang Jie was an enigmatic man and an as*hole. As FL pointed out, he wanted everyone and everything to go his way and to have things revolve around him but well, sadly, people have their own minds and ideas. He was forcing his will on others which was painful and annoying to watch. He wore one utterly "done with life" resigned look throughout the drama which was a pain to watch. I did not like seeing him on my screen. I cheered when his wife finally decided that she wanted out from this man.
- The middle-aged men in this drama were power hungry and manipulative people. Well, I guess this is how things are in the working world where it is cut-throat.
- Jiang Jiao Jiao did not endear himself to me even until the end but he sort of redeemed himself.

To me, the ML and FL lead made this drama work very well. They had natural chemistry and I would totally be able to see them as lovers despite their 10-year age gap. Their excellent acting was wonderful. It was nice to see such easy and effortless interaction and "flow"/ "energy" between all the actors and actresses, especially the ML and FL. I'd say: Please watch this drama! :)

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For corporate millennial ladies in late 20’s and beyond

“Ever since I started work, I worked hard to be of value to my boss so my contribution at work will transcend my gender.

…but I am wrong…

If your boss can’t leave you, you cannot “graduate from” your boss.”

With the rise of working female and talks of feminism in social media over the years, the show biz is quick to capitalise on the market opportunities through commercialisation and stories that center on these themes. What makes Nothing But You stand out among the lot of crappier stories, rather considerably is the realistic portrayal of Liang You An (LYA)’s corporate struggles in today’s middle class’ ladies.

This is a modern corporate lady contemporary show done right.

How many late nights, urgent calls and contemplative car rides we have taken, thinking about our progress at work, recognition, value and purpose. How many times have we thought about quitting the stressful and meaningless job, but came up with a blank because we also do not know what we want to do next. Our parents and society would say we are thinking too much. Yet, shutting the voices down also dulls us, gradually but surely. And that’s on the career aspect.

On the relationship aspect, LYA’s perspectives were also spot on. I like that the show didn’t characterise her as an ambitious woman who didn’t want love. Yes, she takes a long time accepting her feelings and undeniable attraction to Song San Chuan (SSC). Yes, she has her fair share of reservation through their journey. Which is realistically, how a lady who had built a decade of independence, would feel and behave.

It’s easy to think that SSC represents the idealistic side with his career and theme focusing on sports and career switch. Represents the beacon of hope because he is young and full of possibilities. Look a little beyond the stereotype though, 20’s in sports can feel like our corporates’ 30’s, or even beyond, as many competitive athletes retire by SSC’s age.

Hence, they met at the right career juncture of their own. An athlete who found renewed spirits to step on the court again, a corporate worker who found renewed purpose to take charge in her career.

And then, only when they had their direction in life, they found “Nothing But You.”

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Nothing prepared me for this drama. I went in with no expectations, and I came out with a new understanding of how people can take different paths in life, and still succeed as long as they put their heart in it. Not to say that they haven't produced dramas with inspiring messages of how to live your life to the fullest before. But this sports-oriented show delivers that message without being preachy.

The drama kicks off with Zhou Yu Tong as an efficient personal assistant who is quick on her feet, excels at handling multiple tasks, and successfully resolves many issues for her demanding boss. Liang You An crosses paths with an athlete trying to make ends meet by joining a competition sponsored by You An’s company.

Song San Chuan becomes smitten with You An at first sight, and his loyalty is endearing and his smile adorable all throughout the drama whenever You An is around. He latches on to You An as his saving grace when he finds himself in limbo and could not get past his trauma playing professional badminton, as it reminds him of his mother, who abandoned him during one of his important matches. You An saw San Chuan’s potential and suggested that he switch sport.

New to tennis, San Chuan struggles to find his footing with his unambitious teammates and a new coach with peculiar training methods. But his tenacity and You An’s faith in him made San Chuan shine in a sport that had shunned him at the beginning. Through this journey, San Chuan understands he can rely on his family and friends for support, and that he didn’t have to bear all the burden. I also liked the fact that You An developed a backbone and learned how to say no to her ex-boss or to others who thought they could easily manipulate her.

I enjoyed this drama a lot, and there were no secondary or tertiary characters that made me pull my hair. All the characters were well-rounded, even the seemingly devious ones. “Nothing But You” tells us that everyone can achieve their dreams: if you don’t give up, have faith in yourself, and have supportive people surrounding you.

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So happy to see Leo Wu act like his age again...

“Nothing But You” has a pretty good balance of romance, sports and business. I really like watching both badminton and tennis, and learning about the training and experiences of these professionals. Compared to many sports romance dramas, it should be noted that the business side of things do take up quite a lot of the drama time. If you are just looking for romance and don’t like business, you might be bored. I personally enjoy the balance of it all.

I think the best thing about this drama is casting Leo Wu and Zhou Yu Tong as the main leads. I am so happy to see Leo Wu in a modern drama again after “Cross Fire” (amazing drama I strongly recommend) and in a role where he can act his age. As much as I love seeing him as a tough prince or general in “The Long Ballad” and “Love Like the Galaxy”, it’s nice to see him act as a 22 year-old. It’s refreshing and he’s so adorable.

I was initially concerned about the age gap, since noona romance is not my favorite. The male and female leads reminded me of the leads in “The Rational Life”, but better and more compatible. Even though Song San Chuan (ML) is only 22 years old, he’s gone through enough in life to be quite mature. I also appreciate his character to not be always portrayed as the forever mature and act-older-than-his-age character either. I love that he can still act young and sweet, and Leo Wu is the perfect Song San Chuan. On the other hand, Zhou Yu Tong played the more mature Liang You An very well, too. Professionally, she’s experienced and mature, but when it comes to love, she can still act like a little girl. Even with a 10-year drama age gap between the lead characters, they make a very compatible match as both can be mature and childish at the same time. Leo Wu and Zhou Yu Tong have great chemistry. It did take a while for them to be officially together, though there’s enough sweetness and affection throughout the drama. Viewers' patience is rewarded with many cute and sweet scenes between the leads once they are together as a couple. I can’t help but smile whenever they are both on the screen acting cute.

I really like how Song San Chuan and Lian You An support each other professionally and personally. They have honest and open communication. You won’t find misunderstanding or miscommunication. They are not afraid to verbally express their affection for each other, while also showing their love through actions. Towards the end of the drama, San Chuan supported You An through a difficult time when a family member was sick. I already like San Chuan, but what he did here put him in my “Ideal Man” custom list. In fact, all the characters in this drama are super supportive of each other. There really isn’t any annoying, irritating and selfish supporting character that I hate. I might find FL’s sister a little annoying in the beginning, and wasn’t that interested in her romance, but she got better throughout the drama. I love the bromance between the 4 Top Smash players, the sismance between FL and her best friend, and especially the stepfather/stepson dynamic.

The pacing of the drama is good and there’s enough happening to keep me engaged and focused. It’s evident that Leo Wu and other actors put in a lot of hard work in the preparation of their roles as professional athletes. I greatly appreciate their dedication, and their muscles and abs. LOL The badminton and tennis playing scenes look pretty realistic.

If I have to criticize this drama, I would say I am a little disappointed in the injury subplot. I know it’s hard to not show any injuries in a sports drama, but still, it was quite predictable. I also felt that the pain issue was resolved rather quickly and then all of a sudden the player is back at the top of their game, and we’re informed by a few quick news articles. Maybe some scenes are edited out? I would have liked to know more about the other two male players, rich boy Chen Zhe and high schooler Dai Yi. I also wanted a little more romance between FL’s best friend and the coach (maybe a little less time on the secondary couple). Towards the last ¼ of the drama, the dubbing got worse. I appreciate the actors using their own voices, but the post production got sloppy and the lips don’t match the words. Censorship again?

Overall, I had a great time watching this drama. I like both Leo Wu and Zhou Yu Tong, and love their chemistry and playfulness. I enjoy the equal screen time of romance, sports, and business and find the acting to be pretty good overall.


Completed: 4/15/2023

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Best modern drama of 2023

Absolutely loved this show. Every episode was engaging, fun and easy to watch. Came for Wu Lei, stayed for him and everyone else. If you are looking for a mature storyline whose characters have depth, look no further. Time and effort was spent on the lead and also supporting characters. The script writer made me care about the characters and i liked all of them immensely, despite all their little quirks and flaws. I was completely invested in all the side stories when usually they are just fillers but in this case i was invested in every story. Wu Lei nails it with his acting again, portraying a young athlete struggling with demons of his past while trying to forge a new career. Zhou Yutong is believable and likeable as the smart and streetwise but restrained career lady. There are no tropes in this drama: no lame 3rd party love triangle, no silly misunderstandings, no money grubbing gold digging women looking for a rich boyfriend. What i loved was also the friendship and sismance between Liang You An and her best friend Luo Nian. I am very fortunate to have friends like thag in my life too. I probably enjoy this show a lot more as im 40, so a lot of the dialogue rang true and resonated with me. My fave is when You An said:"There can never be 50/50 in a relationship, when 1 of you is down and out and can only give 1%, the other person who truly loves you will not mind giving the other 99%.

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Inspiring story

You guys definitely check this out, both leading actors did an amazing jobs. Great story development with intelligent dialogue and mature characters, great visual and very very realistic and I must say simple things made the best of its.

This drama was all about inspiration, motivation in individual life and career, more than just a love series!!!!

One thing was little bit off for me was supporting couple. Even though they were all cute and young and I don’t feel it. Other than that, everything was good, including the relationship between the coach and LLA’s best friend (Luo Nian)

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Loyalty, Trust and Respect are the base of a strong relationship

This is on my Top Ten High-Valued Rewatch Drama. I haven’t watched many dramas as of late because of how long most dramas are. Quite time-consuming. Movies are a quicker solution to entertainment and thrill. So when a drama has a second, third rewatch value, that drama has to be top-notch in my E-collection. This drama is one of a few.

I need to apologize first if my words seem stumble and chaotic as I stay up from 10pm to 7am to reach to the final ep. For 3 days straight, I get up, do house chores, study, house chores, make dinner, study and spend the rest of the evening from 11pm to 6-7am mowing this drama. My brain is temporarily fried but I need to write my reviews now while the passion, the love and the excitement still in my blood streams. Otherwise, if I go to sleep, I might not come back to this. I get lazy. I want to support the cast, the crews especially, the intelligent screenwriter Zhang Ying Ji, the producer Zhang Xiao Bo and talented director Chen Chang for this beautiful, exciting drama, which I haven’t seen in the market in a long while.’

My mother and I were watching this drama and Amidst the Snowstorm of Love back to back however; I dropped half way and my mother were 20 eps in then jumped to the last ep.. I admire Leo Wu for his professionalism, he is great in both physically active dramas, which both are produced in 2023. How is that possible? He must have trained days in and days out for these two, hence, the juicy biceps…excuse my drools. Though, I find these two have almost identical plots, a genius with a brilliant athletic ability struggles with childhood trauma, which has him stuck in life. Lost parents at a younger age. Psychological challenges (both ego and self-confidence). Meets the light at the end of his tunnel, falls in love at first sight. Those two grows through various stages of life, supports each other through each failure, injuries, win medals, secret love, challenge from the FL’s parents, ML received support, admiration from his teammates, and adopted parents (teacher, step dad), etc. Many more but it will become a spoiler. With all of these similarities, my love leans towards this drama because of its maturity in acting and how the cast’s emo-intelligent growth are showed each passing stage. I find some of myself in FL’s decision in life: a career driven woman but has self-doubts and is played by her own boss, who she gives her all for 6 years (of her career and received nothing but a kick out of the company), because of her mother’s failure in marriage, she shoves hate, projects her own negativities onto her daughter …but FL is determined to live her life, to share her light with others, lives with dignity and thirst for a meaningful life.

As woman in her 40’s, I can understand her decision in works, hesitation in love and how happiness is put in a corner, but is scared to ask for. Sometimes you want to speak up, to scream for the unfairness but for the sake of others, you can’t. You go home and blame it on yourself. That guilt can eat up anyone. Fortunately, God or the screenwriter sends Song San Chuan to light up her life and she gets to open a new door for him. These two love and support each other in a level of respect, maturity-not though common jealousy type you see in drama lately.

The leads are wonderful. I don’t care how others say they don’t have chemistry…what else you want.? Their age difference is 20 years, they can’t be lovey-dovey always. Career. Goals. Financial stability. Health. Are put before all that cute huggings, kissings and nonchalant. Although, I laugh silly watching these cp kiss and being playful (finally gosh, kiss some more). Leo Wu is wonderful at showing his vulnerability, a slight shaky lips, nose when he tries to cover his tears. The goofy, silly boy in love then to a determined athletic, who works hard for his dream, takes on responsibilities and admits to his shortcomings Wonderful!

The rest of the supporting cast is on par with their characters. Another point I adore this drama, character development-you can see the why, when and how, not a sudden change or a stiff bad guy-good guy role. The portray of cold big fish eats small fish is accurate to the bone. Smart dialogues.

Before ending this long review, I wanna note another extra plus plus plus points for this drama, pls note this is extra but not necessary the sweet spot to me liking this drama: Them Sweat on bare skins, Them Shorts, Them sweaty boys running in shorts…Lord, help me! Uhmmm, very hot….I mean, very professional :))

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