A family of choice, abandoned by their mothers, raised by devoted fathers.

Relationship between the three friends who grew up together:
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From the get go, it was easy to see that Jian Jian clearly favored Ling Xiao over He Zi Qiu. She made Zi Qiu's life quite difficult and it made me a bit worried about what kind of man Zi Qiu would grow up to be, to always have to beg for affection. But thankfully, he turned out all right. Overtime, she outgrew the little jealously she felt about him becoming her brother and Zi Qiu's mother becoming her step-mother. But we could see that she took him for granted because he agreed to everything she wanted. And maybe that allowed him to have fun along with her, be a little naughty and forget that his mother left him to a stranger who could have treated him badly. Next, we have Ling Xiao, who was treated cruelly by his own mother, then later abandoned without much care. He had to grow up too early, compared to Jian Jian and Zi Qiu who were always lost in their own mischief. He was the mother of their friend group, who had look after both of them once he decided that they were his family. It was painful to see how life split the three apart, and for a moment I wondered if they would ever be the same.

The Best Fathers :
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Li Hai Chao: The best parent I have ever seen in any stories. Just how generous can a person be? There is nothing you can hate about him. He is made of all the good stuff in the world. Seeing that he lost his wife to childbirth, he could have become just as vile as Chen Ting and mistreated his child. But he was never that kind of person, he raised a daughter who was maybe a bit mischievous but all in all had a happy soul. He took in Zi Qiu and always treated ling Xiao well. He was both a mother and father to all three children who grew up to become the decent human beings they were. It was easy to see his genuine care for the children. He just eluded warmth. I was glad we had a character like that to balanced out the selfish mothers.
Ling He Ping: I wasn't a fan of him since he was more of an absentee father. Normally, it would have been understandable as he was the primary breadwinner of the family. But his absence resulted in the psychological trauma faced by his only living son who was neglected and mistreated by his mother. For far too long, He Ping humored Chen Ting at the cost of his child's mental health. I'm usually someone who is against violence and don't even tolerate excuses for slaps. But I didn't feel sorry when Chen Ting was slapped. What a poor excuse for a mother. Once she was out of the picture, Ling He Ping was finally focused on his child and became a decent father who started looking after his son.

Mothers who abandoned their sons:
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Chen Ting: What a horrible character. I wonder where the ideas for this character came from. I do hope people who have mothers like these have grown up at least as well adjusted as Ling Xiao or are holding on and trying their best to live their life. She first mistreats her son, then abandons him without looking back, she then goes on to marry someone else and have another child (wth was going on in her mind to have another one. She is not a mother material), has an injury so now all the adults in her life don't want to take care of her so Xiao has to, when he has no obligations to do so. But he is guilt tripped into doing so. Even after he has fulfilled his duty as her "son", she then forces him to stay with them for more years. When is able to get rid of her tentacles and come back to a place where he was happy, she finds it in herself to come play with his head. She is mad at the woman he loves, hates her because that woman cared more for Xiao than her selfish ass ever did, then she tries to set her son up on a date with another woman, as if that's not enough she tries to kill herself leaving behind a letter for Xiao to find. She never had any mercy on her son. (One of the ickiest characters I have come across)

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The ML is an adorable Teddy Bear.

When you put yourself in the ML shoes, all you can think of is that the guy is a saint and so damn mature. Even after all the things FL put him through, he still loved her and went out of his way to understand where she was coming from.

We get that FL was coming off a lot of hurt and the reasons she chose to escape her life, but at some point she should have told him the truth. She made selfish decision to protect herself from the hurt and allowed the poor guy to go crazy. He was so damn worried about her. While ML is 10/10, I do wish the FL would have put him first and at least told him the truth about her life. So what if they had went there separate ways, at least he wouldn't torture himself like that. Knowing the ML, they might have reconciled sooner.

Now, as a viewer, I completely enjoyed the style of the drama. I also had fun watching how frustrated the guy was and all the things he shared so freely. I honestly wish more people were this brave. I also liked how the FL gradually shared how she felt but she clearly was the more loved by the ML.

The supporting characters were also pretty good and fun to watch.

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Everything is great! Writing this review after my 2nd rewatch.

The chemistry between the leads is wow. I remember watching this previously and liking it a lot, little to no silly misunderstanding, bickering leads, no interferences from annoying SML or SFL, and a plot with some substance. These are all the things that I look for in my dramas. The leads don't break up once they get together, nor are there any unnecessary time skips. The supporting characters are also lovely and entertaining.

Dramas like this one and Go Go Squid give us a a look into the gaming circle. I'm still not sure how realistically the portrayal of gaming circle is in these dramas, from the irrational fans to fame. Are gamers really that popular? I mean I'm sure they are popular on the net, but what about in real life. Are they celebrities that have people hounding them like this?

I had fun watching all the elements of the drama, especially the slow burn part, there is a lot of interaction between the leads and they are the focus on the show. There was just one instant when i questioned the relationship between the leads, but then it wasn't that big of a deal, at least not compared to the way they cherished each other. So, definitely one of the rare cdramas worth rewatch.

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Yet another drama where Tan Song Yun shines like the bright light she is!

Before going into this drama, I read a few reviews and saw many praising Jing Bo Ran for his looks and performance, for me thought Tan Song Yun was the star of this show. I did like Jing Bo Ran but his character Lu Yan Chen/ Lu Chen was a bit hard to pin down for me, I liked Lu Chen sometimes, but others he just didn't seem like a person who pursued things other than his work. Gui Xiao, on the other hand, was a treat to watch.

I especially loved the flashbacks, which gave us complete look into how each of them felt for each other. Lu Chen was far too reserved so the flashbacks helped reveal a bit more about his feelings for Gui Xiao. Their breakup had me reminiscing about the decisions made when I was that young, how easy it is to be swept away with emotions. It also showed us how two different people dealt with their problems in different ways.

But you still have to give it to Lu Chen, even though Gui Xiao broke up with him, he didn't hold on to the resentment for long. He was more understanding than most MLs.

The romance part was good, the leads have good chemistry. However, there made up very suddenly. It was a bit underwhelming but I was happy for them both.

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Wǒ xǐhuān! Lovely Couple! Crazy Antics! Such a silly yet adorable drama.

While the business part of the drama was super messy, the romance was on point!

Both the ML & FL were super adorable. I especially loved the moments when they were in Lady Meow & Coffee mode. I wish we got see more of Lady Meow's antic, Coffee's were funnier for me. I did enjoy him chasing the laser. I was just surprised with the way they ran their companies though. It seemed like they were playing game and the business part was far less believable. They had 2-3 minor misunderstandings that were solved in like seconds, so you won't be cursing at them for long. Plus points, all the characters are so damn beautiful.

The SML was a mama's boy and didn't stand up for the FL. It didn't really seem liked he even liked the FL for who she was originally. I actually thought the guy was pretty decent before his mother stepped into the picture. The entire thing about humiliating the FL was so childish on his mother's part, they pretended to be above her but showed less class. (Icky, that's how it makes me feel!)

The SFL was complex and after money. She called herself a gold-digger and that's what she was, all people who decide to pursue money at cost of everything else have their reasons, that doesn't mean you should trample on people as you do it. She was so heartless to the ML, that it makes us glad that he got the chance to be with someone like FL, who is very decent. (Not very smart when it comes to running a company, but a skilled designer)

It was interesting to see the open ending for the SML & SFL, they clearly have potential. And the SFL is someone who can deal with the SML's childish mother.

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Great chemistry between the leads. Lots of Kisses! A well-done Happy ending!

Someone shared a similar timeline for one of the dramas and I Loved knowing what I was getting into. The leads have good chemistry. There's this one scene that might make you want to cry but its not that big of deal. Other than that, you'll enjoy the lead couple, the ML is the main attraction, the FL also a fabulous woman that you'll come to admire. And the scene where they are together, kissing each other, or showing intimacy are just so freaking good!

Ep 1-15: The ML gets into an accident, looses his memory, FL lies to him claiming that she is fiancée for her ulterior motives but ends up falling in love with him. The version who looses the memory reciprocates that love, however wait for him to get his memory back.

Ep 16: Gets his memory back

Ep 17: Has no interaction with FL, but we see some flashback.

Ep 18: Finally has it out with the FL, but FL is the one who approaches him. He simply denies that there was anything between them but lies. Thankfully, the FL is not weak.

Ep 19: His ex-fiancée tries to get ML back but he isn't interested at all. He is more interested in plotting revenge against the FL, enacting his plan, he shows up at the FL's company to irritate her.

Ep 20: FL becomes ML's assistant, he tries his best to make her miserable. But I like FL's attitude. She knows that she deceived him so she is okay with him trying to take revenge. At the end of the episode, we'll have a sismance moment with FL and Yu Qing Qing. They are so good to each other, friendships like that are gold.

Ep 21: Through intervention from his Doctor & cousin, the ML finally is able to accept that although FL lied to him, she might love him or might have loved him.

Ep 22: They have a meal, bury the hatchet. The next day ML gets jealous and acts crazy.

Ep 23 to Ep 26: Its mostly the leads bickering a bit, having some gentle moments.

Ep 27: FL kinda goes on a blind date and the ML shows up beats the guy.

Ep 28: They finally kiss again.

From then one, the relationship part is mostly resolved. In the second last episode, we see villains get what they deserve.
The final episode focuses solely on the happy ending that the couple deserved. This was such a good drama to watch. Cdrama writers out there need to take note on how to master an ending, not mess it up, or rush through it in the final minutes.

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Why does there have to be that 2-3 episode arc that makes you question your judgement?

Initially I liked the ML, he was honest and an interesting character to watch. Every time he opened his mouth, it was like a accident waiting to happen. I was so fond of the character trait, that I overlooked some of the flaws that such characters bring.

When they fell in love, the ML didn't hold back and was very affectionate. The FL is also equally smitten with the ML and their interactions are just so adorable. So, what could go wrong? I have never been a fan of people who lie, in fact, I related better with the ML compared to the FL in the drama. So, even I was surprised that ML decided to dump the FL over a misunderstanding. He wouldn't hear her out, allowed her to be bullied in the office, turning a blind eye to it. The entire thing just soured my experience of this drama. But it also shed light on the ML's rigidity, which I ignored from the beginning.

As I was watching the drama, in the back of my mind, I kept having this thought. How are these two going to make it last? The ML couldn't really accept FL for who she was. She lied and had to promise him so many times that she would stop doing that. If people could change so easily, we would all be happy. The ML's love for FL was so conditional, he should have found someone else.

Even when he dumped her and let her be treated like that, the FL continued to hang around him, glutton for punishment. When they got together he gave her apology and that was that. They were back together.

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Much more Interesting than Part 1. (But a poorly executed happy ending)

Okay. While the dynamics between the leads has improved to the point that it could evoke an emotion out of me, it didn't really improve for the better.

In the first 11 episodes the ML kept the FL imprisoned for her own good. She spent the last days of her life imprisoned by him because he was obsessed with keeping her by his side. He was okay with her living in pain but wouldn't give her a quick death even when she begged for it, a good a way to treat a enemy, right?

In her last month, she wanted to be free, as she had lived all her life in prison but he didn't even satisfy her last wish because she simply wouldn't give him an explanation. FL was also a bit illogical at the point, knowing that he was only going to love one person his whole life what was even the point of keeping things from him? They both tortured each other, one was doing is emotionally while the other got to experience the physical pain daily.

If you have got to admire one character the most in both parts, it is Lin Hao Qing. He had more of a sibling relationship with the FL even though they were not blood related. If not for that, I would have been shipping these two. They also had better story in both parts compared to the Main leads story arc. The ML was kind of clueless about everything. If not for Hao Qing, who knew how long it would have taken the FL to regain her human form or what she would have been through in the wilderness.

I read in the comments that the drama had happy ending and that was the only reason I continued till the end, but be ready for disappointment. Its more of an ambiguous ending that takes place in the last 5 mins of the drama. Its is so poorly done that all you can surmise from it is that okay they are living happy together she is back, but there is no explanation as to how she is back.

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The visuals are amazing. The acting good. The Story not so much.

Even though thought the two leads are visually stunning and good actors, together they don't seem to work at all. There's such a lack of chemistry.

The story also fails them. The FL approaches the ML with a ulterior motive, dupes him for a while but falls in love with him instead. Ultimately, to protect him, the FL lies to ML and kicks him off a cliff with a stab in his chest, expecting him to live. The ML finally believes her lies and we can't really blame him for it. He comes to hate her for it and in the end, just as she leaves one prison, she is captured by him and imprisoned again. The FL just keeps exchanging one prison for another.

That's a concise version of the entire story. Despite its amazing visuals & stellar cast and characters, It is so damn boring, I couldn't have finished part 1 without the fast forwarding. But for some reason, I'm glad that I watched it.

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If you don't like to see FL being blamed for everything that goes wrong, skip this one.

First things first, the description of the show on MDL is not entirely accurate.

Since going in I already knew that this was going to be at least 3 different lifetimes for the lead couple to finally get together, i was waiting with abated breath for Chong Zi to die. I did read some reviews but majority were moaning about the actress's skills. Honestly, she isn't bad. I have seen other actresses do worse. So, to me, she wasn't that annoying, just a minor tolerable nuisance int he back of my mind.

1st Lifetime: Episode 1 to Episode 14/15
The one thing I was curious about the most was how did she die in the 1st lifetime, lo and behold, the ML killed her himself. The FL was too devoted to him, while he was devoted to her, his major concern was controlling her evil miasma. And even though he had feelings for her, they were not enough to find a way to save her in that lifetime. It was especially saddening to watch because Chong Zi though the world of him and he did seem like a intelligent and powerful sage, maybe it was his plan to kill her and allow her be reborn and he did go out of his way to ensure she was reborn again. But pretty coldhearted no.

2nd lifetime: Starts episode 15 & doesn't really end at least not until ep 39/40.
The leads are super messed up, in the second life they continue the same cycle. Chong Zi was such a goner over Luo Yin Fan that she was quick to forgive him no matter how many times he let her down. She just went right back to him. In Chong Zi's second lifetime, Luo Yin Fan decided that he would protect her at all costs but he was the most unsuitable person to protect her. He actually put her in more harm and no matter how many things his sect did wrong, they all just blindly decided to overlook those things, but Chong Zi took one misstep and it was a crime. They all, including Luo Yin Fan treated her abominably. Although he claimed to love her, he never really accepted all of her. It wasn't a love story that I rooted for.

Instead I was hoping that Qin Ke would win her over. Even though he didn't much help Chong Zi in the beginning, in her second lifetime, he always helped her, protected her and stood up for her against the sect, even when Luo Yin Fan tried to kill her on numerous occasions.

The immortal sect, all high and mighty was so corrupt. None of the people in the sect were logical at all. Its all black and white to them, immortals= good and demons= evil. All they see is evil miasma/breath, and they get murder in their eyes. Anything anytime goes wrong, kill Chong Zi! They really had so much hatred for someone who had done nothing to them. It was just plain awful to see.

And how does it all end, Luo Yin Fan sacrifices himself, but even with a powerful actor the scene was so underwhelming for me.

3rd lifetime: 3rd for Chong Zi & 2nd for Luo Yin Fan. (Episode 41 *Special mini episode*)
It was too short and not really interesting to my liking. The first 2 lifetime while not really romantic were at least interesting to watch. At times, they were intense. But its fine for people who hoped they ended up together.

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Gets Intense From Time To Time

Initially, I thought this was one of those mini dramas that are just fluffs that make you happy, but that wasn't the case. While it had some of those elements that make you feel giddy, it also had some pretty terrible moments.

FL is such a cutie, too damn trusting for her own good. I had so much fun watching her and see her become friends with the woman who tried to hate her in the beginning. Since the moment she married the ML, she was suspected of being a mole. The ML wet out of his way to treat her poorly, let's all forget "innocent until proven guilty". When that arc was over, we got the better version of ML but he blew too hot and cold a little too fast.

In my books, the worst thing a ML/FL can do is marry another woman and be cruel to the FL/ML. That is the line I draw. This cliched marry another woman/man to protect their partner trope has been used so many times that I'm over it. It just sheds light on the imbalance between their relationship. Can the fools not trust each other and play the game together? No, instead it is better to play the other. What's worse the poor FL had to be the bridesmaid and give him away to that women and he still went through with the marriage. What a spectacle. Even before that, the ML treated FL poorly when he found out his brother's death. Yes, you are allowed time to grieve and push people away for a while, but to not trust her at all. Just the whole lack of trust dynamics makes him ill-suited for her. What's the use of all the sacrifices, when all you ever do is leave your partner behind. Wouldn't she be better off?

The later half of the drama is too depressing. With these dramas, you have to got to know, when one of the lead couple makes a promise, its bound to be broken and worst is yet to come. And it has a sad ending, which is thankfully overtaken by the special episode.

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Loved This Version Of Story For Little Red Fox & Imperial lord.

I started watched this right after Eternal Love. I wasn't a big fan of the ending these two got over there and am glad that this sequel was made.

If you watch it right after Eternal Love, right off the bat, you'll notice the difference in production, some of the central cast members, and character behaviors. Bai Feng Jiu from Eternal Love was a bit more mature compared to this one. But that stopped bothering me once we see her turn into a fox, she is so damn adorable. The male lead is of course gorgeous, however his appearance in the Eternal Love was a bit better, in terms of styling, the hair, the outfits, the colors in this one took some time getting used to.

I was hoping to see Mo Yuan/Ye Hua, but that didn't happen. At first, I thought that they didn't exist in this universe but they do they are just never seen.

This is one of the shows where the female lead falls first and falls very hard, whereas the Male lead takes forever to notice her affection. While he is not one of those who falls harder but he wasn't able to figure out his feelings on his own, his friends had to prompt him and tell him about all FL has done for him. Anyways, once he decides to pursue the FL, he is all in. That's what matters.

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What a rollercoaster! (lot of spoilers, avoid reading if you don't want major spoilers)

This was one of the dramas that I put off watching for a while. Mainly because it has too many female antagonists trying to ensure the female lead's life is full of sufferings.
1. Xuan Nü: She fell in the love with Li Jing, a guy the FL was dating at the time. So, she put in some efforts to split them apart. However, the guy was really no angel. He claimed to love the FL but was easily seduced by the Xuan Nu. He found ways to justify being with her and didn't really put in any effort to stay with FL, resulting in the breakup and him getting married to Xuan Nu.
2. Su Jin: She had such a good beginning with Ye Hua. They could have been friends who shared each other troubles. Instead, she tried to force her attentions on him. When that didn't work, she did everything possible to make sure he didn't have happy life with anyone else, even when he clearly stated many times that he didn't care for her. But her schemes were the reason that the ML had to treat the FL like utter crap, and he also had his share of blame to take for that part. Anyways talking about Su Jin , she just didn't know when to admit defeat and made everyone miserable.
3. Miao Qing: Another person who liked the crown prince Ye Hua. She was easily manipulated by Su Jin into trying to seduce Ye Hua, who saw through it often enough.
4. Le Xu: Ye Hua's mother. I had expected her to treat Su Su fairly when she was in nine heavens, but her neglect was the worse. She was biased towards Su Jin and made sure to show it every time, not really seeing that she didn't have her son's best interest in heart. Even when everything was out in the open, she still kept Bai Qian from visiting her Ye Hua's body, showing that she really was so heartless.

One of the worst and repulsive characters was Hao De [Heavenly Lord]. I remember one thing he said to Ye Hua, "You can have as many concubines as you want but don't get tangled with a woman who'll lead you astray" He said so many misogynistic things that his character was hardly tolerable. He also was one of the people who allowed Su Jin to torment poor Su Su.

Now about the male lead (Ye Hua), there are times when you think he is adorable and then you just want to outright murder him for hurting Su Su so much.
The period when I hated him:
In the beginning when he tried to be indifferent to to her to protect her, I was thinking, okay i can roll with this punch. But then things took a drastic turn. When Su Jin framed Su Su, he leapt to his feet, picking up Su Jin and leaving a confused and a bit hearbroken Su Su behind, who was questioning her sanity at this point. He did this knowing that Su Jin framed Su Su, but he had to pretend that he didn't care much about Su Su. And if that wasn't enough, he took Su Su's eyes and gave it to Su Jin, quite unforgiveable in my books. But since I knew this show had a happy ending, I wanted to see how Ye Hua would redeem himself, that is if he could at all.
The period when he redeemed himself:
When Su Su jumped off the Zhu Xian Terrace, he dived in after her when he could have clearly stopped himself in time. Later, when he met her as Bai Qian, he went out of his way to be good to her. Even when he thought that Bai Qian might love Mo Yuan, he was okay with it as long as she had a little affection for him as well. Not only that, he also went through many challenges to bring Mo Yuan back to life for Bai Qian, knowing that she might choose Mo Yuan. Also, the Male lead has never been unfaithful. He hated Su Jin and didn't every look at any other women.

Mo Yuan (The one we all thought was the male lead): From the get go, it was easy to notice that Mo Yuan treated Si Jin (Bai Qian disguised as man) differently, with affection. But with the way Si Jin treated Mo Yuan, it was hard to guess if the devotion was one of purely of disciple towards that of a master or anything romantic. Had Ye Hua not existed, may be there would have been something between the two. When Mo Yuan came back to life, it was easy to see how bothered he was that Bai Qian loved Ye Hua. It was plain to see in his eyes. However, by the end of the show we could see that he had accepted it.

Let's talk about the female lead (Si Jin/Su Su/Bai Qian )
Its hard not to love Si Jin and her shenanigans. It was nice to her grow into someone who could lead an army alongside her brothers from Kunlun Mountain. Her loyalty to her master remains unchallenged. After she left the mountain with Mo Yuan's body, she continued to grow into her identity of Bai Qian, the great lady.
As Su Su, she was kind but had the worst fates. The words "this world can be so cruel to the kind," remind me of her. All of the people in the nine heavens messed her up. The only person who grieved her passing was Ye hua, for others she was just a passing mortal. She was so messed up that she left her child behind, something that I'm conflicted about. I don't like her for abandoning her child, but at the same time she was too messed up to care for one. Even when she regained her memories as Bai Qian, she made the decision to forget not just her worries but also her baby.

Coming to the story, when it comes to Bai Qian's identity as the monarch of Qingqiu, there were times when she didn't pull her weight. I felt the same way about the Mo Yuan, the god of war, especially when he came back to life. All the Xianxia dramas I have watched have so much corruption in the heavenly realm, starting with the emperor himself. So, there are a lot of characters we end up wanting to punch.

I have been binge watching continuously without even taking time to leave reviews, but this one made me want to take the time and write everything down! That's how much I was invested in it. Although the ML eventually grew on me, once in a while I let out that silly giggle because he kept reminding me of Professor Snape.

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Terrific Actors. Riveting Story.

After watching this, I realized that Bai Lu is actually a good actress. I have watched her in two dramas before this and didn't really think much of her acting skills. Its not that she didn't stand out, she is terrific and charming, but the scripts just weren't right for her. Kunning palace was such a terrific scripts, with a lot of plot holes and missed potential, regardless it was riveting until the very end.

And after watching Zhang Ling He play the role of Xie Wei / Xie Ju'an, I have come to realize that he was made to portray historical characters. He is so unrecognizable from his modern day roles, where he reminds me of a teenager. In his roles historical roles, he bring us a different aura, just like he did with his role in Love Between Fairy and Devil. I'm going to check out few of his other dramas as well to see more of him. In some scenes in Kunning Palace, he kinda overdid it and we have to ask the directors what were they thinking. For example, the first scene where they introduced him, they gave us a close up of his neck. It just looked so damn funny. But apart from some of these weird instances, he did a phenomenal job with this character.

You'll Keep Guessing Who The FL ends up with until the last few episodes (Spoilers below)
Let's begin with the adorable Yan Lin, he brought light to Ning's life. While she never showed any romantic affection for him, she cherished him a lot.
With Zhang Zhe, the story was so complex that it wasn't fully explored. Even though it seemed slow paced, it felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities to make their story flow. After claiming to like him so much, Ning seem to have given up way too quickly on what could have been between them and so did he. Despite her being a stranger to him, he was attracted to her and we can see in his expression that it was not just because of her looks.
Xie Wei / Xie Ju'an, the reason I was glad that it didn't work out with Zhang Zhe. While Ning would have had a sort of peaceful life with Zhang Zhe, he would never truly have understood Ning as a person. He was a bit too rigid for her, sometimes that makes a good choice but the chemistry between Xie Wei & Ning was just too strong to notice anything else.

What really pissed me off was the story between Jiang Xuehui & Shen Jie. Shen Jie seemed like such a powerless character that it was hard not to feel sad for Jiang Xuehui and kind of curse Shen Jie for not having spine.

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