Remember when I said that I binge-watched (and loved!) Go Ahead (review here!) when I was sick recently?

Well, what I didn’t mention, is that because I was sick for a good while, I actually binge-watched a number of shows.

It turns out that when you’re not actually writing episode notes or reviews, you can watch a lot more drama; I mean, who knew? 👀

After I finished Go Ahead, I picked this show to watch, because not only did it come quite enthusiastically recommended by some of you, it’s also by the same writer who wrote Go Ahead (who also wrote Meet Yourself and Find Yourself, both of which I also enjoyed very well).

So of course that just bumped it right to the top of my binge queue, right?

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Ye Shilan (Liang Jie) has an unexpected run-in with Lu Zhaoxi (Joseph Zeng) out in the mountains where she’s volunteering, and she is convinced that he’s a goat thief and a fraud, and blustering hijinks ensue for the several days that they’re stuck together because of bad weather.

When the storm blows over, she soon discovers, to her horror, that he is none other than the new President of the hospital where she works, and it isn’t long before she is assigned to be his personal assistant. Oops..? 😁

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. Show might take a while to settle

What I mean is, because of our premise, our female lead Shilan has to be rather paranoid and stubborn at the beginning of our story, in order to support the misunderstanding that Show is serving up.

The resulting tension between our leads is played for comedy, and this might or might not work for you.

If this isn’t your kind of humor, hang in there, because it does tone down after a few episodes, when our story finishes its set-up.

2. Show is on the low-key side of things

The premise and trailers might lead you to think otherwise, but Show is really more of a low-key creature, at its heart.

Instead of big, sweeping romantic arcs, think smaller, more down-to-earth interactions.

I’d say Show is a little slice-of-life at heart, even though it’s packaged like a cute rom-com.

3. Some suspension of disbelief is required

Whether it’s in the set-up, or in how easily some things are resolved, there are times when suspension of disbelief is needed, to smooth the watch experience.

Adjusting your logic lens to a slightly blurry setting would probably be helpful, at those times.

STUFF I LIKED

The music is very pleasant

I thought I should mention that the music in this show is very pleasant on the ears.

I didn’t actually get an earworm out of the OST, but I have to admit that the melodious tracks absolutely added to the enjoyment of my watch.

Our male is a NICE CEO type

If you’ve been watching c-dramas for a while, you’d probably know that c-dramas tend to really like their domineering CEO types.

In fact, the domineering CEO type is such a trope that it’s basically referred to as a whole genre, pretty much. It’s called 霸道总裁 (bàdào zǒngcái), which basically translates as domineering CEO.

Somehow, in these 霸道总裁 dramas, it’s portrayed as an attractive, swoony thing, for the CEO (or similar) male lead in question, to be very domineering, intense and controlling.

Lots of viewers just eat this up, of course, which is why this is still a popular theme in c-dramas.

But if you’re not keen on the 霸道总裁 kind of vibe, you’d be happy to know that our male lead CEO is the actual opposite of the domineering CEO type.

In fact, he’s so opposite of the domineering CEO type, that you could safely classify him as a walking green flag. 😁

He’s good-humored, empathetic, earnest, kind, intelligent, and very reasonable. Plus, he doesn’t abuse his authority, and if he appears to do so, it’s mostly just coz he’s being cheeky and can’t resist a bit of a tease.

Our female lead is an independent, capable woman

It’s always refreshing to have a female lead who’s independent, capable and relatable, and that’s what we get in our female lead, Shilan.

Some viewers might find her a little too hot-tempered and stubborn in our early episodes, but once you get past that initial set-up, that hot-tempered stubbornness gets toned down a lot.

We get to see that there are many more layers to Shilan, and that there are reasons why she might think or act a certain way.

In particular, I found her insecurity relatable, because how many of us have also put up a brave front, even when we didn’t feel our most confident?

I also liked that she’s hardworking, and passionate about her chosen vocation. She’s not looking to snag a rich guy in order to make her life easier; she just wants to be able to practice medicine and help sick kids.

That’s true before she meets Zhaoxi, and it remains true even after she meets and falls in love with Zhaoxi.

Gotta love a female lead who’s consistent and principled – and who’s got a good heart, yes?

Healthy OTP dynamics

If you’ve loved the romance in Wang Xiong Cheng’s other shows, like Meet Yourself, then you’d really like the OTP dynamics in this show.

Specifically, the couple dynamics tend to be of the sweet, earthy, healthy variety, where the focus seems to be demonstrating that everyday romance can be very appealing too, and that good communication between romantic partners is desirable and achievable.

It’s certainly not the swoony, sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of romance, so if you’re looking for that, then this might not work for you.

But if you, like me, have come to appreciate this type of low-key, healthy yet sweet kind of flavors in your romance (which Nothing But You also does really well, by the way), then you’d very likely enjoy the couple dynamics in this show.

Despite the rather bizarre circumstances that make up our story set-up, the way that our leads come to know and understand each other better, and become closer, as they learn to trust each other, is very down-to-earth.

A big feature of this OTP, is the way we get to see them engage in healthy, helpful conversations, which is something I appreciated very much.

It was easy for me to see why they would like each other, and why they were good for each other, and why I ought to root for their love.

I thought that was really well done, on Show’s part.

Nice parents

Nasty parents have become so common in Dramaland, particularly rich parents who want their kids to marry for strategic financial reasons rather than for love, that it’s always a refreshing surprise, when a drama doesn’t reach for that, to create tension in its narrative.

In fact, I was happily shocked by how nice Zhaoxi’s parents (Cai Gang and Chi Xiao Tong) were, given that Dad is Chairman Dad, with lots of money, power and influence.

Is this close to real life? Well, no, not really, I’m guessing. But did I welcome it anyway? Absolutely.

Cute secondary OTP

Another thing that dramas tend to do, is introduce second leads who are pining for the main leads, and are desperate and scheming, in trying to elbow their way into the leads’ affections.

That is not at all the case here.

I love it when the second leads have a loveline of their own, and that’s exactly what Show does, with its second leads.

I thought the loveline between Assistant Lin (Zhou Zi Han) and Jiajia (Li Lin Fei) was pretty cute, particularly when he turns out to be [SPOILER] a die-hard fan of her romantic web novels. 🤭 [END SPOILER]

Additionally, I also liked that both second leads contribute positively to our main loveline, by having each of them offer relationship perspectives and advice, to our leads.

Assistant Lin’s deadpan feedback to Zhaoxi cracked me up, as did Jiajia’s colorful and imaginative application of her romantic instincts, which have all been honed by writing all her romantic web novels. 😁

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The OTP sparks are quite mild

With all the positive things I’ve said about our OTP relationship, you might think that I love it unreservedly, and I’m sorry to say that.. that’s not true. 😅

This is something that’s completely subjective, and I’ve seen comments around the interwebs where people say that they just love this OTP’s chemistry.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t feel the same way.

I personally found the OTP sparks to be rather mild, to the point of being quite underwhelming, oops.

I was perfectly on board with all their healthy conversations and perky banter, but any time these two got up close and personal for some kissy times, their chemistry just kinda fell short for me. Sorry. 🙊

This wasn’t a deal-breaker for me, obviously, since I did end up finishing the show, but I do think that adjusting your expectations around this, helps.

Unless you instinctively find yourself loving their chemistry, in which case this point doesn’t apply to you. Like I said, it’s very subjective. 😉

STUFF I LIKED LESS

Some caricature-y unpleasant characters

I suppose this is a small price to pay, in exchange for nice drama parents, but overall, I’d say that Show’s inclusion of some caricature-y unpleasant characters, was not my favorite thing.

In particular, I disliked Shilan’s supervisor, Dr. Huang (Zhou Pu).

He’s shown as being quite extreme in his egotistical ill-treatment of his staff, Shilan in particular, and that was just not fun to watch.

Show slumps a little, in the last third or so

I personally felt my engagement with Show dip, in it’s last third or so.

I didn’t especially care for the various arcs that Show brings to the forefront in this stretch of our story.

[SPOILER ALERT]

In particular, I didn’t like the fake break-up stretch of our story.

I can understand why Chairman Dad would request that Shilan fake-break up with Zhaoxi, but I didn’t like how this was carried out with Zhaoxi left in the dark about the whole thing.

It just didn’t sit right with me, that she would just go all radio-silent on him, given all the healthy OTP communication dynamics that we’ve seen up to this point, and the ready availability of technology that would help them stay in touch for the many days that he’s away.

I concede that Show does offer a reason for this; that Zhaoxi wouldn’t stand for it, and therefore would be unlikely to cooperate – but it still didn’t sit right with me.

I thought this plot point was quite contrived, and not Show’s best, unfortunately.

[END SPOILER]

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

Of course we get a happy ending, where our OTP is reunited and all the important things are sorted out, not only for our OTP, but for our secondary OTP as well.

I’m glad that Shilan finally gets some closure around her father’s death, and I’m also happy to see that Jiajia gets a book offer from a publisher. And finally, our secondary OTP is officially minted as well.

Plus, our OTP gets engaged, which I hadn’t doubted would happen.

I will admit that because I’d felt relatively less engaged with Show’s final stretch, compared to the earlier episodes, I welcomed these developments in a more muted manner than average, I think.

However, I do appreciate our closing scene, where, as Zhaoxi and Shilan go running together, we hear Shilan muse about life, in voiceover:

“My dad once said to me, “If you want someone to give you a hand, you’ve to reach out your hand first; if you want someone to save you, you have to save yourself first.”

I’m thankful I never gave up. Life may not be as it should be, but only by taking it seriously can there be hope.

I’m very lucky to meet such a man. He came into my world and illuminated the corners of my heart with his light. He makes me willing to let go of my pretense and my defenses, filling me with strength.

Don’t blame your past. Never fear the future. Cherish every day of the present.”

And then, we have Show’s parting message to us, on our screen:

“Hopeful that this fortune can be passed to you, who love life just as much.”

I do like that at the end of it all, Show reminds us that our story is about more than love; it’s also about healing, growth, and hope, for each of us as individuals, and that is a very positive and affirming message indeed. 🥰

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Like drama cotton candy – but with a healthy twist.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

MV:

BONUS: OTP EDIT

If you’ve seen the show and just want to relive the OTP moments, this one’s for you!

WHERE TO WATCH:

You can check out this show on Viki and YouTube.

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