Wu Fa Lian Ai De Li Zhi Pai (2021)

This was a rare find

Although this drama has an Older Female/Younger Male dynamic, I would recommend this one for the grown and sexy. Not too silly, the romance was a slow burn but once it gets started it never stops. Although several years younger than the female lead, and in a different financial situation, the leading male still showed how supportive he could be of her throughout the show. The male lead started liking the female lead early on in the drama, but there wasn't a question as to why...some of these dramas the love is questionable...but it was easy to fall for the leading lady such Rou Xin...

The cast was perfect, the secondary couples were cute and did not take away from the main story.

I really enjoyed this one.

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Amazing

I LOVED this one, incredible acting and storyline. there were no toxic second leads or any toxicity of that in general. a sweet slow burn romance, that didn’t feel dragged at all or rushed by the end. i also love how they focused on her work life and on the marriage of her best friend (i love how they solved all the issues they had between them, without having both the husband and wife ending up in a stereotypical marriage). overall and amazing 11/10 drama. i put the rewatch value that low, because i generally never rewatch anything i watch, no matter how it is, so please dont let this one put you off guard :)

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this show DID IT!!!!!!

when i first heard of this show i was extremely skeptical- okay girlboss and a boss-employee relationship w a 12 year age gap ??? there's no fucking way they can make this work in a way that is also healthy, appropriate and doesn't cross boundaries, it's impossible................... and then i watched it....

it proved me wrong.... SOOOO wrong. to be fair i also was hot off the heels of watching 'use for my talent' which was basically just constant workplace sexual harassment and abuse and was unbearable. i have some level of just turning my brain off and being able to watch toxic stupid shit in dramas if some other factor is making me continue (shen yue is just tooooo cute) but it was truly impossible to watch after a certain point. so i just didn't believe that any c-drama could make it work....

BUT RATIONAL LIFE!!!! DID IT!!!!! their relationship really feels like it does and can work by the end, and they treat each other with such respect and care and learn together. the show honestly in general is just really lovely in tone- able to show real life issues and genuine conflicts without feeling like cheap dramatics or feeling too 'dark and gritty reality.' instead the tone is able to keep this lightness and positivity that's rooted in the reality of the show. serious issues are treated with severity, but it never drags you down, the slice of life aspect also never really gets boring, and is still engaging. Conflicts never feel senseless, like you understand where everyone is coming from, and how all people are affected by patriarchy and societal pressure, even when there is a right and wrong. the villains are treated sympathetically, but aren't forgiven and are rightfully punished. but there's no gleeful vengeance either and just feels a little sad, like the realities of life and the cost of their actions. it really feels like the writers really care about talking about these issues and creating a really positive impact.

i really loved the way they talk about modern issues, especially on what women face in the workplace. they have an extremely clear stance and message against misogyny and yet even though ruoxin is technically a girlboss, there's no lame over the top girl boss WINS!!! type of tasteless vibe that you often get in many other shows, especially US ones, which ends up just feeling like cheap pandering to be relevant. it's never shown as the greatest achievement, ruoxin isn't incredible because she's a boss and a girl, but because of her skills and abilities- we admire her the most when she's problem solving and getting herself out of sticky situations with so much finesse. she starts the show incredibly ambitious and seemingly cold and rational, fully fixated on work, but is also clearly depressed and lonely and living unhealthily. throughout the show her actions are based in surviving in the company, not mindlessly valuing career achievement. full dedication to work is shown as a clear flaw, and they do such a wonderful job showing us her learning slowly and naturally throughout the series. in the end she does attain the highest position at their branch, and obvi in universe it's her moving up in her career, but NArratively, the writers are rewarding her with a high position and career achievement not BECAUSE of her being hard working, but because she learned balance! how to appreciate her life fully and enjoy it outside of work!!!!!!! it's a reward that feels earned because she finally took the right steps to be happy!!!

and the relationship!!! is so good!! so sweet!! it's super super slow burn which is the only way to do a big age gap boss employee relationship imo. they spend most of the show as a very proper and healthy boss-employee relationship. she's a really good boss who never acts inappropriately towards him and respects him fully. while he gets a crush on her pretty early, their feelings develop and deepen slowly over time, from being together everyday, understanding each other, admiring each other, making it through all their obstacles together as a team, and just making each other happy!! while the very clear boss/employee, mentor/mentee dynamic is still in effect for most of the show, it's only at the very end that it develops to a point where the romance feels clear and real- the time this takes is necessary! it really comes in the form of qi xiao taking care of her, teaching her to take care of herself and about what really matters in life, which is so necessary in making the relationship feel like that amongst equals. and then as soon as they get together he resigns and they end their boss employee relationship to be partners.... i know the bar is low but thank GOD for this show. and then after they get together i really liked them working through their issues together too, there's not much time, maybe about 10 episodes of this? but it's still nice that the show was able to at least introduce some conflicts they would have based on their age gap, former power imbalance, and both their personalities, as well as how they would work through it together. truly it shows how far they've come when we see her taking a day off work to be his assistant at the end..... that got me so bad.....

ok onto all the side plots!! i love how they dealt with ruoxin and xu zong's relationship a lot actually! it's so good to see them fully show us that her young and attractive boss pulling all the typical things in dramas (buying her fancy things, manipulating and lying to her to get her to go on dates, etc) was clearly inappropriate and wrong- when this is the norm and considered super romantic in other shows. and yet xu zong also wasn't shown to be some evil monster either, and could still be a good boss outside of those actions. i like seeing that a 'good' man who can respect ruoxin and values her first and foremost as his right hand, can still cross boundaries and be in the wrong. they end the show with a healthy boss-employee relationship and maintained really clear boundaries, which i really appreciate and enjoyed seeing.

i really loved ziyan and zou cheng's storyline too, it's rare to see a show give us such deep issues that feel fully unresolvable, as in they are different people who want different things in life, and yet still show us that they were both able to learn while they were separated, and come back together. ziyan's full journey was such a joy to see! i really enjoyed su yang's storyline too, especially since i'm also an illustrator and they got his struggles down SO accurately. i like what they used his character to say a lot, but i also found him unbearable at times because i hate his attitude and how much work you sijia had to constantly put into their relationship, when he rarely did anything at all for her! i truly could not understand why she would like him at all.... makes no sense.... my only real critique of the show is their relationship. i also don't love how things with ruoxin's mom are resolved in terms of ruoxin learning how much she sacrificed and then being willing to try more. i wish her mom was already a much better mom than how she was in the beginning at that point. tbh god bless qi xiao's mom basically single handedly making ruoxin's mom change for the better.

all in all, this is my perfect comfort show and i highly recommend it! engaging and real, yet still hopeful and positive, with so much love and kindness between the characters, and real care given by the writers. modern dramas aren't my thing and i've seen like, 10, but this is 10000% the best one that i've seen.

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35 Eps drama is not my usual taste but watching this one i didnt feel bored through the whole thing. There is barely any romance cliche or issue. on the contrary it was quite a warm, down to earth, mature and realistic drama, welp, minus the cheesy and cringe bit from the second half of it i guess (xD) but thats still manageable (lol, ive seen worse).

Both ML and FL are definitely the highlight of this drama. They are both interesting character and not ones you usually find in romance drama but for me the most interesting character is actually Ruoxin's mother. She was such a complex character that it hard to read her at first but when you learned her history, you'll understand and feel sympathy toward her character.

All in all, this is good drama, no regret watching through the whole long and slow 35 episodes.

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Unexpected Surprise

This show was an unexpected surprise. I started watching it for Dylan Wang (male lead) as I'm a die hard Meteor Garden fan but the female lead totally swept me away in this show.

The story's premise was interesting to me as it can be challenging in society to break the norms that are out there. The way the story weaved the main plot lines with the sub plot lines seemed very real to me. The friends were all supportive to one another and they genuinely wanted each other to succeed in all the obstacles. It wasn't just about two characters in this show, it was about all the well rounded support characters.

The main part of the show I fell in love with was the female lead character. She was poised, calm, collected, sophisticated, intelligent and a genuine person. She never bad mouthed anyone and always reacted to the other person in the calm manner. There were never a moment where she 'freaked' out towards anyone regardless of what the person was doing to her. I admired that quality and wish I possess that quality.

The male lead has improved in his acting compared to his performance from Meteor Garden. He portrays anger well but he still has work to do when it comes to portraying the happy emotions. I'm sure as he does more shows, it will get better.

The rating on this show should be higher than what it is showing up as, the show was definitely binge worthy, I couldn't stop watching it for the story, the female lead's character, the plot lines and the sub characters.

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Mature

Good acting, Good story,, Love theme music. Shen Ruo Xin is a professional career woman in her 30s and she has to navigate through many things in her life. From swimming through the cesspool of office politics with its nepotism, sabotage and company problems, to withstanding familial pressure to settle down and marry, to handling suitors interested in her for their own selfish personal motives, to being counsellor and mentor to her best friend and her juniors, she is one busy lady but watch as she handles them all with great aplomb while managing to find romance in an unexpected place.

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A Heteronormative Life in an Electric Car

This drama is a celebration of heterosexuality as it shows a whole bunch of heterosexual couples... young, old, age gap... And so on and so on... They seem to be trying to have a somewhat taraditional meets progressive approach, gender role reversal, Woman Can! Heterosexual Love is Love... A real man can appreciate a successful woman and so on and so on... As it is not easy to be a woman in a Mans world... where woman are pressured daily in to marriage or even worse children... this drama starts off telling the viewers that it is okay not to get married and have kids, let the women choose for them selves... while still showing that at the end of the day woman can not resist marriage and kids... But sure the pressure women meet is not ok.They will inevetebly make the decision to get married and have kids on their own.

The female lead is a strong, rational woman who does not budge while facing som pretty awful sexism, gaslighting, and flat out bullying in the workforce. She keeps her calm, is strategic and has a whole bunch of qualities etc. I admit I actually liked her, she did not annoy me and had a whole bunch of rational things to say thru out the show.

The male lead is Dylan Wang, the main reason I watched this, he is the sweetest guy ever, supportive, patient does not force himself on the female lead even once, though he does make some questionable choices here and there... Id say he is 90% progressive dream guy dripping honey 10% sexist. Nobody will of course notice that since compared to the rest of the men portrayed in this drama he is pretty much a saint.

The other suiters range between toxic, to privileged but decent, to flat out abusive... and show a hole bunch of red flags... The best friend is bad ass but married to a chauvinist pig. The other friends are pretty cool, especially the second couple who shoed the biggest character growth of them all. The Male leads mom is one of the best moms in all of dramaland, I loved her so much. the female leads mom was not as bad as the female leads mom in Something in the Rain but at times she did get close...

This drama also serves as a looong commercial for "new Power" cars (electricity), the struggles of the industry against back wards striving gasoline lovers who seem to do all in their power to cut the power... While empowering women at the same time.

All in all a decent watch, not amazing but good at times. and easy to binge.

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The paragon of Chinese dramas

This is my new favorite Chinese drama! This drama had everything-- legitimately strong female lead, sweet male lead, respectful depiction of women in the workplace, solid character-building, great music, great acting, great chemistry, and a believable storyline that didn't drag.

This review is more a list of the things I liked about this drama.

This is definitely a slow-burn romance, but it's worth the wait. I actually liked that their romance extended over so many episodes because it felt more believable.

I think I'm in love with Qi Xiao. It's been a looong time since I loved a ML OR FL this much. They both were well-developed, likeable characters who had relatable flaws. They also had sooo much chemistry! No misunderstandings that broke them up. They actually demonstrated good communication, which is rare in drama-land. And may I just say, it was GENIUS to have the leads work together so closely in a slow-burn romance. Even though they weren't dating, they still had TONS of screen time together.
I appreciated the fact that they acknowledged the age gap, but didn't make a huge deal out of it. Love knows no age!

I also really enjoyed the side characters' stories. They showed respect for different kinds of romance, and didn't pass judgment on any of them. Xiaoyu's character was fantastic, because I think we all hit multiple points in our lived when we have to re-evaluate where we are and what we want in the future. She was the most relatable character.

The makers of this drama FINALLY gave us a drama that respects older, independent career women. Ruoxin didn't need Qi Xiao at all (in all areas but romance and companionship). She was very capable of taking care of and providing for herself. There was no cattiness among the women in her workplace (at least, not the usual cattiness over men or positions). The women were respectable and mostly capable. Even when Ruoxin met Lisa, they were respectful and professional towards one another.

Mr. Wu's storyline was also handled well. When it came down to it, Ruoxin wasn't wishy-washy about her feelings. She was direct and polite with him. No beating around the bush. And after he was rejected, Mr. Wu was still professional and friendly towards her. Hats off to our mature adults!

I will absolutely be watching this one multiple times! It was a fantastic watch. Personally, I liked it more than Find Yourself. However, the two are very different dramas with different positives and negatives.

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Heartwarming

OVERALL
This drama is bringing the older woman/younger man storyline to a new level and I love it. Watch if 1) you're looking for a capable FL and a sweet ML, 2) you want lots of cute OTP scenes, 3) you dig work drama. Avoid if 1) you don't like any of the above, 2) you're looking for great chemistry or smexy scenes, and 3) you like meaty characters.

THE STORY
Recently C-dramas have been generous with the older woman/younger man storyline: Love Scenery, My Fated Boy, and now this one. Out of all I've seen, The Rational Life does the best job at dealing with that theme. FL isn't acting younger than her age to make ML more masculine, and there's more realistic drama surrounding the age difference too (which is necessary with this kind of plot). It's also cool how they went out there and pushed the age gap to 12 years!!!

The Good
- ML and FL are not the super cliché C-drama leads. She's not childish and immature, he's not cold and domineering. None of them depend on the other either. They're both capable adults who complement each other nicely.
- The secondary couples (there're 2) are actually interesting and worth watching. The characters are also quite likable. Not cartoony, dumb, loud. Perfectly normal and likable.
- The ML and FL's moms are just so cute (especially ML's)!

The Bad
- ML and FL lack a bit of depth. It looks like the drama wants to give them some at the start, but eventually it all goes down the drain. A bit of a waste, because there isn't much character development (or relationship development, for that matter). The best character is FL's mom, and that's because she's the most developed (and undergoes the most change).
- Now, this point is entirely subjective, but as someone who doesn't care too much about work drama, I find that there's WAY too much of it. They could have cut down and given more meat to their characters.
- Some of the OTP scenes are reaaallyyy cute, but some of them are reallyyy cringe and awkward. It's not always satisfying to watch. Overall, the "falling in love" part is much better written and produced than the "being in love and a couple" part.

THE ACTING
Quite good, but there is zero chemistry between the leads. In some dramas it's fine because it doesn't interfere too much with the drama experience, but in this one you can really feel it, which sucks a bit.

THE MUSIC
Bad haha Not terrible, but bad.

REWATCH VALUE
Not very high, but it doesn't mean the drama wasn't worth it. I just think it's one of those one-timers. It doesn't have the 'umph' factor (something gripping) that would make me want to watch it again.

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Enjoyable and light drama, yet too dominant office plot and near too perfect main characters

I came across this drama on Netflix and found it quite enjoyable to watch. Yet, it didn’t fully convince me or intrigue me with anything unparalleled, it was a rather smooth storyline so you could already expect where things will lead to.

Aspects which I liked:

For people who just started their career or are within the midst of it, there will be something in the drama you can relate to. Whether it’s obstacles in women’s careers, financial independency, pursuing a stable job vs a career path with more uncertainty or not knowing what you want in life, you can find all those topics in the drama. The main messages are also linked to this, as in Ziyan’s story: she got lost and forgot about what she truly wants but eventually gets back her self-esteem and path in life (“At our age, we should understand that not everyone can see the view at the top. What if we’re the ship that ran aground? Then we just rest until the next wave comes.”) Or Su Yang who believes you can only be happy and live life when you’re established, but then realizes that having the support of people you can trust actually makes you stronger and helps you to believe in yourself. Of course, there’s also the “pride from the achievements of your own honest hard work and growth” aspect. In the end, Ruoxin earns her spot at the top without playing dirty tactics and not ridiculing those losing their power. In addition, though related to societal norms, I liked the way the mothers analyze how they raised their children and what matters to them as mothers. The friendship between the mothers was a nice side benefit. And overall, I liked that the relationships between the main characters were supportive and sincere, everyone was pulling in the same direction. Also, all the couples were very likable.

Aspects I didn’t like:

I think the central character, Ruoxin, is lacking a bit human touch. Of course, she has some setbacks, but they are mainly related to bad luck, stress and office politics than something that can be traced back to her. Other than that, she always does a fantastic job, always has a diplomatic and sharp answer at hand, gives precise commands in a blink, and always has a solution to tackle things efficiently. I cannot count how many times she was praised as capable and outstanding in the series. Why does a strong female character need to be presented like an iron lady? I cannot help but compare her to the female lead in “Find yourself”, which I found way more believable. I think it’s only natural that you doubt yourself sometimes and that you don’t always know what’s right (at least from my understanding, perfectionist people doubt themselves the most). There will also be days when you can’t work that productively, a task you’re not good at, or a situation that renders you dumbfounded. In the end, Ruoxin learns how to open up a little, but other than that, she remains stiff, not only in terms of personality but also in her body language. And it’s not only her, Xu Minjie, Lisa and Qi Xiao are equally near too perfect characters. I get that Qi Xiao is determined, hard-working and reliable. But isn’t he like the perfect boyfriend – smart, handsome, always caring, always doing his utmost and succeeding in it, and always understanding how other people feel? He’s even that good at cooking and diversified in his recipes that he can make dishes reminding Ruoxin of her childhood. Well, it’s a drama series after all.

Another aspect I didn’t like was that the office plot was too dominant. I get that the main stage of the series is the office and that it’s about a career-driven woman. But watching the trailer didn’t give me the impression that it’s a series about office work on electric cars. I almost felt like I was working there. And is it really necessary to constantly work overtime and be available 24/7 for your boss to deserve to be called capable and hard-working? Apart from eating out and Ruoxin’s fascination about astronomy, what else have we learned about the private life of the main characters? I think that “Find yourself” was more multi-dimensional in this aspect and outlines the societal linkages of the characters in a more holistic way. And while the characters in “Find yourself” were going through understandable struggles of a relationship with an age gap (family, colleagues, neighbors etc), in “The Rational Life” you’re left with a happily ever after and never get to the point where they need to work on their relationship (it only gives a glimpse when Qi Xiao prepares for the design contest). Moreover, the kissing scenes in “The Rational Life” felt unnatural – a little bit more passion wouldn’t have hurt the drama. And finally, something which I normally wouldn’t bother to point out, but I found it funny that they were emphasizing so much the environmental aspect of their electric cars, while neglecting that the product life cycle of electric cars isn’t 100% clean (and it depends on the energy source) plus they were always carrying around plastic bags and take away in plastic packaging.

All in all, the series is sweet and enjoyable, maybe it even motivates you to work harder for your career since it was almost like an advertisement for hard work, but other than that, there’s not more to it.

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