SO CRINGE, SO GOOD.

[veeeeery slight spoilers?]

tldr: watch it if you want the feels, a selfless love, and can handle a super draggy plot. Not recommend if you're looking for a tightly woven plot, pacing and quality production.

this one got me, just got me. I'll talk about that in a bit. But first,

Trash editing. The zoom ins, round camera pans when the protagonists hug, were so cringe. The music wasn't memorable at all, except maybe at the comedy scenes. The outfits? Main dude wears the same damn, ugly white outfit most of the time. WHOSE IDEA WAS IT? ONE OUTFIT? FL's dresses had variation, but they had these silly designs, i just couldn't take them seriously. I now know that it's probably bc her mom is from the modern era, but they could strip off that excess stuff and she'd look so elegant and nice.

Plot: Was very loose, though fitting for a silly rom com(which just had to have a pointless death? Ugh). It dragged a lot and there were many plot holes. The wedding was 7 days later, but the 7 days were made into like 15, because??? 16 eps would've been perfect, fitting that slow burn in. The villains were the most useless villains ever.

Acting: the actors ate. I'm so serious, esp the support actors. They were all so natural, so expressive and entertaining. Especially shi zi xun as liu jun, his performance felt very sophisticated and crafted to me, i don't know why. Maybe because he doesn't have much of a "goofy" role. Wang lu qing as hongxiu was incredible. She is so, so cute and precious.

FL was good, her energy was high and i could see her putting her whole heart in the character. But, eh, her expressions could really use some work. Her facial expressions didn't have much variety, it was like she was just using her default, natural face. It didn't feel intentional, as if she practiced a lot but without looking into a mirror. She had the same expression most of the time and lacked variety, especially during the sad moments. Underwhelming. And her slight overacting during the comical moments felt repetitive, tiring and stood out among all other very natural actors.

ML was good too. I liked his masked side the most, as he had to express a lot of emotions just with his eyes. I found it so beautiful, every time he gave that eye smile. It might just be my preference but i didn't quite enjoy his performance as li xiong WHEN HE WAS WITH FL. When he was with her, he got all shy and trippy, i just didn't find the expressions crafted enough. I LOVED his firm, cool headed li xiong/kui mulang side.


Chemistry and characters: are you kidding me??!! The romance was taken from a textbook, legit stock formula. Start to finish, so predictable. All the romance scenes were so cliche and overused. But hell, it worked. It always works. My cheeks hurt from smiling. But it's probably because of his majesty alone, not really the "romantic" scenes. The main characters sit a bit too close to each other, then they lock eyes for a good 10 seconds and then look away awkwardly. "Oh, you have something on your lips! Let me wipe it for you," and then they lock eyes for another 10 seconds. Phew. But it just works. I had to look away and face-palm so much because of how awkward this all is to me.

FL got really annoying with time. I couldn't care less about her. The main element of this drama that made me feel incredible *things* was KM's love for QP. I haven't seen a king this kind, forgiving, selfless and sweet since tantai jin. It pulled at my heartstrings so much. Whenever he was masked, when he'd agree to anything and everything qi pa says(except about going back), when he'd take her on walks to beautiful places, when he'd call her out for dates, "what do you want to do to my child", give her anything she wanted, everything she never asked for (and didn't deserve atp), exempted her from all rules and traditions, protected her day and night, gave her that little wolfy necklace, told her how he was of wolf bloodline and only loved one woman in his life(oh my heart), and other countless things. When they'd go out on walks with his mask, and they're like "friends" except she's only using him for her needs and he unconditionally gives her everything with a smile. Insane. This one character of his just kept me wanting to see more and more.

This is getting too lengthy or I'd write more about the side couples. All so cute!! Especially liu jun x hongxiu.

LASTLY, the comedy was better than I ever expected. It was just on point.

Note: I KNOW she was kidnapped and she doesn’t owe him SHIT.

Aaand yeah, brainrot ends. I hated it and I loved it. The actors and character writing carried this show.