Slowly Lost Interest Over Time

- Read the novel it was based upon and was excited for the adaptation (Times Spent in Pretense)
- Slowly lost interest in the story over time
- Only kept watching for the side relationship with Yun Han and Miss Du, but ended up being disappointed with that as well (like I'm glad he's alive, but why didn't he tell her? Why did he just let her leave? Do we not get a final scene with them?)
- Final ending just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story and felt very abrupt
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Sweet, but boring at times

The highlight of the drama for me was Ye Shilan's character growth, and how she gradually came to terms with her father's death. However, I had one significant complaint. Throughout the story, Ye Shilan mentions how her ultimate goal was to buy a house of her own (that was the whole reason she was staying at the hospital), but that storyline was never completed. Unless I missed something, the drama ends without her having accomplished this key goal, which made her character arc feel incomplete.

For me, Lu Zhaoxi really fell flat. He is depicted as the walking green flag boyfriend, but that is all he really is in the drama. I never felt like he had much of a personality and it felt like his purpose in the drama was to support Ye Shilan and nothing else. Even during the whole plot with Gao, he was, in the end, just a pawn for his father. I'm all for healthy relationships and nice MLs, but I just wished he had some more personality.

Another complaint I have is with the plot. I felt that there were slight hints to the whole Gao takedown plot, but nothing substantial throughout the drama. Then during the very last episodes, everything about that plotline was suddenly introduced, and just as quickly resolved. I never felt any connection or any real sense of danger, because the stakes weren't clearly introduced. It honestly felt like the scriptwriters felt that everything was going too smoothly, and they needed to add in a climatic event to end the series.

In the end, there isn't anything significantly wrong with Hi Venus, but it doesn't present any ground breaking ideas either. If you're looking for a light, fun drama that you can play in the background while doing other things, this would be a good pick.

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Tension Ramps Up but Nowhere Near as Solid as Part 1

I really wanted to like this drama. There are so many scenes where the characters are realistic and level-headed (love you Consort Yue), but then they're interspersed by unbelievable events or significant character butchering (Lou Ben, Madam Cheng, etc.) . There are also so many questionable plot holes or incredibly convenient moments in the story.
- How is Cheng Shao Shang able to forge an imperial pass in a night?
- Ling Buyi is now a wanted criminal after his actions. How is he able to have such a long conversation with Cheng Shao Shang on horseback while the army surrounds them? How have they not just shot/killed him yet?
- Ling Buyi just so happens to have a specific birthmark that can prove his identity (that the emperor also somehow knows about)?
- How do they know that he's still alive after falling off the cliff?

Also, I just couldn't get into Cheng Shao Shang and Ling Buyi as a couple. I felt no chemistry in Part 1, and Part 2 just amplifies that. I much preferred the scenes where they were doing their separate things.

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Friends to Lovers with Usual Tropes

- Classic enemies(ish) to friends to lovers trope
- Unnecessary miscommunication (ep 18 - 20)
- Strongest plot in the middle; first 2 episodes extremely cringe and plot died out after official relationship
- 2ML plotline dragged on way too long (why choose to confessing your feeling to a girl when she's already in a relationship)
- Last episodes felt very abrupt (one minute he's proposing, then they're married, then they have a kid?)
- 2nd couple had a very tumultuous and frankly toxic relationship (skipped most of their scenes)
- Queerbaiting?
- Lots of similarities with my all-time favourite campus drama (Our Secret), but falls way short

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