A Love Story : You Are the Greatest Happiness Of My Life (2021)

A levelheaded heroine

Since the mother kept saying how wonderful her son was and that he could be happy only with a capable wife, I really hoped Tang Mingxuen would finally tell everyone how helpful Mo Fei was to him. Her help was crucial for his company at every critical moment. And yet it doesn't seem he even notices it. He only likes hearing from her how great _he_ is.

Overall, the drama was too long. I'm not usually a skipper, but I skipped all the XXL romance. I really couldn't care less for her character. Also, the scenes were too slow, and the dialogues often turned into monologues. This drama should have been shortened by half. At the same time many conflicts were left without a resolution. You know the Chekhov's gun principle. There were many "guns" in this story that failed to fire.

I'm glad that the main couple avoided serious breakouts, but I felt that Tang Ming treated Mo Fei too superficially. I hoped that, as a couple working in the same industry, they'd go hand in hand. But he never discussed with her anything serious, treating her like a teddy bear good for nothing but cuddling. Even though she helped him on many occasions it was often in spite of him. I also don't remember him standing behind her when it mattered. She was often left to fend for herself.

I did like however how levelheaded she was. That was refreshing for a Chinese drama. Still, I felt she was sometimes too easy on him. Esp. when he was lying to her for a long time and then pretty much just brushed it off.

I enjoyed the Chinese fashion history. I didn't enjoy the fake French interiors. Even the staircase that was the simplest to make failed to look genuine. Still, as much as I could suspend my disbelief and see it as a staircase in Paris, it gave me a weird feeling whenever the action moved to another "Parisian" place that looked Chinese, like Mr Feng's apartment or Cayman HQ, or that tacky restaurant where Andre takes the students. It felt like jumping continents in a matter of minutes.

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Heartwarming romance with a slice of high fashion life

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2021 Chinese romantic drama with 45, 45 minute episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synosis

Infatuation at first sight occurs when workaholic Ming Xuan (Hans Zhang)encounters talented design student Mo Fei (Xu Lu) At the design fair they both attend Ming Xuan overhears the feisty girl passionately telling her friend how the designs featured in the show could be improved. Like Cinderella dropping a shoe, Moi Fei drops a notebook in which she sketched many of the designs from the show, along with improvements and some of her own thoughts and designs. Ming Xuan finds the notebook and is slow to return it as he finds the girl, and her concepts fascinating. Ming Xuan’s family company, Yuan Fashion Group, has a traditional line they are trying to reimagine and globalize. Mo Fei’s designs often incorporate her passion for traditional embroidery which is an aspect that fits well with Ming Xuan’s concept for the future of the traditional fashion line of his business. With so much in common, the two quickly become a growing part of each other’s lives. But there is a top designer with a grudge against Ming Xuan, his former childhood friend, Fang Xiao Yu (Hing Yao) who also finds the beautiful young designer interesting both professionally and romantically. The stage is fully set for romance except Mo Fei wants to continue her studies in Europe and Ming Xuan is convinced bachelorhood is the best way to keep his aspirations for his business in focus. Not willing to alter their goals separation is inevitable and Mo Fei heads to Paris while Ming Xuan remains in China. This separation could have been the end to a budding romance until fate steps in and Ming Xuan has the opportunity to launch a European fashion line which intersects with Mo Fei in terms of a joint business opportunity.

Review

This was recommended by someone when I said I like happy endings and female leads that are not whiney. She recommended four Chinese drama series and this is the third one I have watched and the recommendations were perfect.

If you like love stories where the leads fall in love and stick with each other through everything this is one of the few where there isn‘t a huge break up. The slice of life in the Chinese and French fashion industries is really compelling. All of the characters were well developed. There were so many likable characters and the villains we’re motivated by jealousy and narcissism which made them suitable love to hate characters. The central love story follows a predictable pattern but there is enough intrigue around it that it makes it an enjoyable watch from start to finish. I would rewatch it and highly recommend it for those that
like slice of life, heart warming love stories and strong female leads.

#TheSunshineofMyLife
#ZhangHan
#XuLu
#HongYao
#WangRuiZi

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Watch All The Way

The one character I have enjoy thru this drama is Mo Fei. She has been a strong, positive, smart, and determine to get her dream. I love how thru all the ups and down she was not made weak, She kept her position on who she was. I like that Tang Ming Xuan supported her dream and who she was. The actors did a fantastic job in their performance. Hong Yao, You make us dislike you at the beginning but I have seen you in other dramas ( I loved "Art In Love") and have always like you is time to see you in a leading role. Yang Guang you were my favorite character and a very good and cute actor. I hope we can see more of you soon. I loved all the interesting information about embroidery, dyeing, Material making and the culture and history in China of clothes of the past. As I did not agree with the writers in many episodes and thought many episodes could have been better written but I do have to give it to the writers. I have enjoy the last 10 episodes of this drama. Thank You for not waiting to the last episode in the last few minutes to make this drama complete. Thank You for showing us what happen to all the characters in the drama, even does in the supporting small roles. I always enjoy a good ending and especially when the last several episodes were very good and gave the drama a completion and satisfying ending.

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Beautiful love story

I loved this drama! Generally speaking, I am much prefer Kdramas to any other foreign shows I watch. This is only my opinion 2+ years into switching from American shows to foreign but I have found that C dramas can sometimes border on less realistic acting and storyline less appealing. This is not one of those! The love story between ML & FL was so beautiful throughout the entire show and his treatment of her was something every girl dreams about.

Pros:
Great acting by everyone. I have seen ML before and was not surprised that was the case for him but remaining cast were all new to me.
No long breakup between ML & FL which is so typical of many shows like this. A few bumps that were quickly resolved w communication and love.
Every storyline or relationship in this drama was played out and wrapped up nicely.
Interesting learning about fashion and historical aspect of China. Helped me to see a different / fascinating China than what most Americans typically think of China
Gorgeous fashion shows w models as well as clothes worn by cast. ML wore some beautiful clothes that American men would be “afraid” to wear.
Yes, it was long (45 episodes) but every episode I found was interesting.

Con:
I could only find one that was A bit irritating when ML kept FL in the dark about a childhood one sided love that occurred and caused some problems & did not fest up until forced to do so when FL accidentally discovered it and was really hurt. He did admit to his wrong but he still should have known better and handled it completely different. But hey the writers had to have some type issue to spice up the story I guess. 😄

All in all - I am going to list this as one of my favorite shows out of 100+ I have watched of foreign dramas in the last couple of years. Some of the criticism of other reviews I could not understand & thought were unwarranted. Don’t miss out on watching this great love story if you like that type of genre you won’t regret it.

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I wanted to love it

I love the main actor and was excited over this drama. Unfortunately a third into it I found myself wanting it to end. The females in this drama are hysterical, and immature. The female lead drove me nuts with her baby talk once she was in a relationship with the male lead. I fast forwarded a lot, something I rarely do. I guess I lucked out with the previous 2 C-dramas where the FL actually were consistently smart. Don’t get me wrong, the story itself was beautiful and the reason I gave it an 8, but this drama was too drawn out and couldn’t have easily been cut to 20 episodes.

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Rewatching for the 4th time

This has become one of my favorite romance dramas.. it’s a real romance… the ML and FL are both strong characters… they don’t let anyone come between their love once they start officially dating.. it’s apparent the ML was attracted to the FL early on and teased her a lot.. even was jealous and protective of her…
The ML and FL are great actors with beautiful chemistry… great couple… not too many angst in this drama… the rivalry wasn’t threatening because FL and ML knew where their heart belongs so 2nd leads had no chance in breaking them apart… I love that they was fated to be together and find out later how… I love the development of their relationship and the independence of the FL.. their romance is so beautiful and affectionate… great kisses , etc … I also like the way FL dress style and appearance become even more beautiful as their relationship and her career progresses…
this is my go to drama that makes me smile…. Truly underrated… would love to see leads work together again in another romance drama

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A solid romance dragged down by lackluster fillers

I felt awkward when trying to write this review because I was seesawing between positive and negative feelings while watching the show. It felt as if I'm reviewing the Show and "the rest".

Fundamentally, this is a good romance drama. The ML is a handsome, workaholic CEO of a high-end fashion empire and the FL is a younger, bubbly student designer with great potentials. So far so good and their developing romance was nice and sweet. The ML is totally loyal and supportive but a bit domineering. The FL is a bit clueless at first but warmed up nicely. They have good chemistry and there is a decent amount of skinship that feels natural. Their romantic scenes in Paris are beautifully shot and their later scenes in China are certainly swoon worthy. I also appreciate the show paying homage to Chinese culture, textiles and fashion. For once, the overarching business theme is integral to the show. This includes realistic couture creation processes and not just the usual lip service. This would be a tight and enjoyable drama if it was 20 episodes long, alas it is more than double that length.

To reach that lofty length, the writer grafted on many iffy subplots and added a host of one dimensional support characters. We have a SML as well as SFL, a parade of tropey antagonists, meddling and manipulative parents and a dying ex-GF. So much angst, too much time.

All these stereotypical characters inhabit a seemingly parallel world where the OTP visits in between their romantic outings. Due to some dodgy writing, the flow of the story is not always smooth nor logical. Sometimes you can sense that the show wanted X to happen, so they worked backwards and jam in an Event Y as the raison d'être but quite often this feels clunky and heavy handed. Even when the story did make sense, it is filled with standard tropes.

Likewise, some characters' behaviour and rationale gave me pause. For instance, the ML’s mum admitted that she made a grave mistake when she forced the ML to marry his ex-GF 3 years ago for business reasons. She is doing exactly the same thing again but with the SFL. This also begs the question what are SFL's thoughts after witnessing what happened 3 years ago. The mum also refused to accept the FL, but she was willing to accept the FL’s younger brother as her only niece’s boyfriend after one short meeting. BTW, the 2OTP is quite contrived and not very convincing.

Surprisingly, the sick ex-GF is actually the best character of the lot. She is a sweet, well-adjusted lady. Her subplot was bittersweet and touching but grafted on. Small blessings.

Probably the worse aspect of the writing is the convoluted and muffled narrative. Subplots are plentiful but feel dull and predictable. Antagonists never raise above being petty minded. Even when they did huge economic damage to the ML’s company they are not punished in any tangible way. It was laughable how they were eventually caught. There are other examples of this type of dubious morality and fast logic. Ask no questions...

With that in mind, I would say that the core romance drama is good and solid but the overuse of lacklustre fillers drag it down and made it less enjoyable to watch. Peace out.

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This is a good drama, with a strong female and man lead.

I see some reviews saying that the show is cliché, and using old things. I never understood people that disregard a whole show, just because it's used ideas that other shows have used in the past, like anything is really original anymore.

Xu Lu is beautiful, and she plays a strong, honest, and focused woman, trying to improve her skills in making clothes. Love Scenery is the only other show I've seen her in, and she is great in it. I just love her personality, and mannerisms.

I have to say though, that the photo of her on this site is bad. It's like a Glamour shot, and really does her a injustice.

Zhang Han was very good, and his smile really changes his appearance and personality. I saw him in Boss and Me, and he did great there as well.

There are many beautiful girls in this show, all with interesting personalities.

I'm still rather new to Asian Dramas. I've been watching anime for over 35 years. I really love how different asian shows are compared to American ones.

I watched Sunshine of My Life in about 3 days time. It never got boring to me. 45 episodes went by so fast.

I love how relationships were handled, and how they deal with love and unrequited love. Jealousy was a big issue, and motivated a lot of actions. Was interesting how people took what they saw, and twisted it to think the worse of someone who was actually very innocent.

This show is deeper than some people seem to understand. It explains why some people disliked it so much, and just thought it was boring. If your only skim through the surface of the content, and not put yourself into the shoes of the characters, and not think of it from their pov, you're missing the important part of the story.

So watch the show with a open mind, and look past the surface, and see between the lines. There is plenty to see there.

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Long Drama with no misunderstanding and breakup

To be frank I didn't like to watch this drama based on some negative reviews.Guys it's one of the long drama without break up.They have portrayed mofei(xulu) character very well unlike other characters she is very bold and understanding very strong in pursuing her dream and male lead mingxuan (Zheng han )also very supportive for her dream.This drama tells us the lesson happening in our real life too.And to mention fl bro and ml cousin where really too cute in their relationship.And mofeis frnd duoduo and chengyang also had cute relationship .And the secretary of ml is really good and other characters like fangxiau xueling qianqian baixaoman and shenjiaxi all done well.Guys don't avoid this drama since it has 45 epi then u will miss a wonderful drama.Worth watching go for it.

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This is a cute story if you are not into martial arts, fantasy, and historic dramas. It is just simply a love story! I love the main actor, Zhang Han... I noticed he likes this kind of role. I also loved his acting in "Here to Heart". My second time watching Tang Ming Xuan who played the main female lead role, Mo Fei. I would love to see more of her in dynasty roles... Hong Yao in the main role has done plenty of dramas but only in support roles. I loved him in this drama. I hope to see more of him.

The storyline was ok, the actors and actresses that carried this story. They all did great! It did take me 10 episodes before I became focused. I think if it wasn't for Zhang Han, I would've passed it up. It may not be bad for others to watch.

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I wanted to watch this drama in its entirety because I really, really liked the leads and their romance. FL was independent, behaved maturely and was a sincere character. I liked ML's quiet, business-like attitude. Loved when he wore the glasses - he looked so scholarly. I also actually learned something about traditional Chinese fashion and embroidery. I like dramas that educate as well as entertain. HOWEVER, I made the decision to not finish this drama because of all the old, worn out tropes that were pulled out of the scriptwriter's back pocket and applied in order to drag this drama out to 40+ episodes.

Soon we had the typical meddlesome love rivals and the control freak parents start to cause trouble. I'm SO done with this formula!!! I want to watch a romance, not a soap opera, ok? First of all, it's really pathetic when the female love rival has to bypass ML and go to FL to try to scare/guilt her into dumping him. So, basically, the only way you're going to get this guy is to clear the field of any other competition? Pathetic. And all the boo-hooing about how she gave up this and that for ML, which somehow entitles her to his love. News flash, honey, you can't force someone to love you, and if you truly loved him, you wouldn't be expecting anything in return. He never asked you to give up this and that; it was your decision. You had how many years with him? If he hasn't married you by now, then he ain't interested. As Dirty Harry says: a man's (woman's) got to know his (her) limitations.

As for male love rival, I just wanted this arrogant, pushy brat with ugly clothes to go away! For a fashion designer, his own attire was terrible. Made my eyes want to bleed at times. His costume girl/guy needed to be fired from this drama.

Then we have the harpy, Bai, and her imaginary victimhood. Why do all these guys prefer FL to you? One word - genuineness. I understand the need to leave room for character development but does the starting character have to be so annoying and unlikeable?

Now we get to the worse of the worse - ML's mom & her 'family background' snobbery disguised as 'what makes a good marriage partner'. For some reason, she seems to think ML is too young to chose his own spouse (even though he looks 35+ and can run a corporation in a competent manner) so she needs to do it for him, even though her first choice had disastrous results because he didn't love the girl. So, we have to spend nearly the entire drama with mom pushing her preferred choice at ML and then loudly caterwauling when he resists her efforts. Not only that but then she pouts and declares that she's not going to acknowledge his choice. So immature and yet this woman is supposed to be wise enough to choose the right wife for him? And what does dad do? He let's mom caterwaul rather than telling her to shut the hell up and stop meddling. Why are dads usually portrayed as wishy-washy?

So, although I loved the leads and really wanted to finish watching their romance, for the above reasons, I'm done with this drama. I'm just tired of this formula being used over and over again. Why not reduce the episodes and focus on the leads' relationship and romance instead of throwing the kitchen sink at them? Using the same formula over and over again is lazy and uncreative. Such a cookie cutter method. Really, this is just another frustrating C-Drama romance (soap opera) where the leads are unwllling to be transparent with each other, causing unnecessay misunderstandings.

I gave 7 stars because of the old, worn out formula of meddlesome love rivals and parents. I wouldn't recommend this drama unless you don't mind watching this kind of interference from outside sources. I, personally, didn't want to end up screeching at the TV like Mother Tang, but if you can handle it, go for it - there are romantic moments worth watching. Maybe the best thing to do is watch with your finger on the fast forward button so you can skip to the romance and leave out the angst.

Favorite scene - can't remember which episode but it's close to the beginning: ML is imaginarily dancing with FL as a slow, romantic jazz song is playing. So sweet and utterly romantic!

My objective in writing reviews is to save viewers like me the time and emotional roller coaster rides. With 40+ espisodes, that's a lot of time invested, and you ought to know the good, bad & ugly before going in. I KNOW the Chinese can tell a good story without using all these tropes. Go Ahead, My True Friend, Arsenal Miltary Academy, Be My Hero, Love Script, Coup de Foudre, Under the Power, My Little Happiness are good examples of entertaining plots that don't use love rivals & parents to cause endless angst

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If you liked Boss & Me you’ll love this

Watching this drama brought back so many memories of Boss & Me. It’s like an upgraded modern version of it. I like that the female lead is a lot smarter and more confident in this one. She’s not shy or unsure of herself. And the romance has a lot more spice to it. The male lead is very similar to his character in Boss & Me which is fine with me because I loved him in that drama. It’s very similar in that it had your typical cliche second leads that were obsessed with the main leads and caused a lot of problems. And there was a big gap in the leads ages and social status which caused problems for them. So, just like Boss & Me, the basic setting of the drama isn’t fresh or new. But the dialogue and how they interacted with each other was very touching. I also appreciated that there were no tripping into the male leads arms, no drunk confessions, no noble sacrifice, no unnecessary breakups, and no accidental kisses. There was some angst and tension but it was never overboard or too much. And most conflicts were resolved pretty quickly which I prefer.

The romance was refreshing because it grew slowly over time and seemed very realistic. It was surprisingly mature and had a natural feel to it too. There’s lots of steamy kisses and skinship. If you haven’t seen this male lead kiss before you’re in for a treat. He is very passionate and tends to dive right in enthusiastically, especially after she gives him a brief peck on the lips which he always claims isn’t enough. I really liked the romance in this drama. The leads were very comfortable and flirty together and had amazing chemistry.

I loved the female leads character. Not only is she smart, confident, and talented, but she is also a gifted clothing designer. Her clever creations fusing Eastern and Western styles catches the fashion industry’s attention. But her goal of getting Chinese embroidery and fabrics into mainstream fashion throughout Europe is a lofty one most consider unattainable. She has an uphill battle ahead of her in the fashion industry. Unfortunately, at the same time she also has to deal with several jealous females that constantly cause problems for her. One is jealous of her successful career, another is jealous of her boyfriend, and the other is jealous of her popularity. I see a lot of this at my job so I could definitely relate to it. There’s way too many women being jealous of each other instead of empowering each other nowadays. But the way the female lead stands up for herself and shuts down her haters with clever responses made me admire her so much. I really enjoyed watching her character learn and grow.

The male lead reminded me a lot of the character he portrayed in Boss & Me. He’s rich, smart, talented, and a super romantic boyfriend. He is put into a difficult situation by the second female lead. Despite his clear lack of interest in her romantically, she sacrifices everything to be by his side and help him. She gives up her dreams of being an artist and switches to his college to learn business management. Then she becomes a constant and indispensable fixture in both his family’s business and in his families personal lives. Her actions puts tremendous pressure on him to be with her. Everyone, especially his mother, thinks that he is obligated to marry her despite his lack of romantic feelings for her. Since she’s sacrificed so much it seems like the most honorable thing to do. So many look down on him when he rejects the second female lead. He ends up having to fight for his right to choose who he dates and marries. I admired him for never wavering in his firm stance to be with the woman he loved. He made it clear he would marry her or not marry at all. Yet he was still honorable and respectful to his family. You just can’t help but love him.

For the most part this drama was way above average. The acting was phenomenal which is not surprising since the leads are well known veteran actors. And the set design and wardrobe were gorgeous. It was obviously a big budget drama. The biggest negative about it was the very cliche setting of the drama. And there were a lot of annoying jealous females that go a bit too far. The other negative is the female leads hairstyle. Why do Chinese dramas make the young female leads have childish hairstyles? Seeing the female lead run around in braided pigtails or a braided ponytail for the first half of the drama was annoying. Then in the second half she often has the “Apple hair” where a small portion of her hair is pulled up into a small ponytail on top of her head. It isn’t attractive and looks far too childish for a graduating college student in her mid 20’s starting a career as a designer. Fortunately she is very pretty and her wardrobe was gorgeous so the pigtails and Apple hair didn’t look too bad. It’s just sad that we didn’t get to see her long beautiful hair down in a more mature hairstyle very much.

In conclusion, if you can get past the cliche setting of this drama you’ll love it. It’s cliche but cliche done right. I don’t mind a cliche drama if the acting is good, the leads are likable, and the chemistry is on fire. And this drama has all of that and more. These talented actors bring their characters to life and make you love and admire them. I loved all of the characters, even the trouble makers (well except for maybe one of them). There’s also a couple of side romances that were cute and fun to watch too. This is a very sweet light fluffy romance drama with just the right amount of angst and tension. If you’re looking for a riveting action packed thriller or a melodrama with lots of angst then this isn’t for you. But if you like sweet romantic dramas where the leads communicate well, have great chemistry, and have a healthy relationship, then you should watch this drama. Personally I loved it and will definitely watch again in the future.

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