I have to say, I did not expect to like this as much as I do - maybe it's all the ridiculous idol dramas I had to sift through in order to get to something like this; I wasn't prepared at all for the amount of depth and detail behind each character - they're more than just pretty faces! It's hard for me to think of this as a "drama" - it's more so an interesting view at the contemporary Chinese woman. This series dabbles a bit into the misogyny that the Chinese are known for - roles women should play in society, the value of a daughter, etc. It also looks at the vanity some women have, and the emphasis placed on it in asia - how important it is to have a house, a car, brand name bags and clothes. *disclaimer: I lived with a bunch of "wealthy second generation" chinese students who got sent overseas for college, it's a pretty accurate portrayal based on what I've seen* These elements, combined with incredible writing and character development made this one of the best dramas I've had the pleasure of sitting through. Each girl is unique and has their respective strengths and weaknesses, and after sitting through their struggles, you end up loving them, hating them, pitying them and feeling good for them, all excellently slated together in a way that warms your heart. (I also liked how some of them had legit Shanghai accents too) I will note though, there really isn't a male lead - the male roles you see (Wang Kai, the guy who plays Wei Wei, Jin Dong) all play reoccurring supporting roles. This came off as a bit odd at first to me, because I am accustomed to having male/female leads, but it really doesn't detract from the show at all. Apparently they've decided to do another season (at least from what I could see doing a quick google search) using the exact same cast, so you won't have to worry much about the series' somewhat open ended ending. This looked like it would be boring, and I honestly gave it a watch just because I saw Jiang Xin - but this is probably one of the few dramas I've watched that go over 40 eps where I didn't skip through some dialogue because I ended up losing interest in a particular character. Absolutely worth watching!