Cheng Huan Ji (2024)

Family means everything (I will leave it for you to interpret whether its good or bad)

This is a family focused drama with romance as a main side focus. The FL mother is honestly the star of the show. Great acting!! (to the point I really cant stand her but for Yang Zi, I watched till the end).

Lets, start with plot. As mentioned above, this is a family focused drama. It talks a lot about values and "filial piety". Coming from a different background from this drama, I had a very hard time understanding the FL mother behavior. The FL is a people pleaser: pleasing her mother and her ex bf. Essentially, eventually she also got tired of it all and this drama follow the route of how she grows. (did she though... maybe?)

I actually did enjoy how the romance part of this drama played out. From the FL ex to the ML, the transition of how the FL moved on was smoothed. Good chemistry between the FL & ML.

Conclusion:
This drama is not for everyone. A lot of Chinese audience seem to enjoy this drama. But if u come from a different culture, the FL mother's behavior may boil ur blood and ruin ur enjoyment from watching this drama.

Side note: FL mother is the main role not Xu Kai! Once u watch the drama, u will understand what i mean.

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“Romance” should be removed as a genre

There is nothing romantic about this show, it’s purely a family drama, focused on generational differences, family struggles, values and how important those factors are in Asian culture. The overbearing mom was intolerable most of the show, but is quite accurate and relatable to our own. Cast and actors were great, I only stuck around for xu kai and yang zi but the first 28 episodes were not exciting, and didn’t really pick up till episode 30. This is one of those kind of shows you don’t have to focus on, can multitask with it in the background, and still not miss much. Some moments will pull at your heart strings, but that’s about it. Wish I could’ve rated it higher but not when I didn’t care for 2/3 of it.

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Family. A Mother and Child Bond

Honestly, 95% of the time the mother in this series got into my nerves. But, the last 5% of the whole storyline became the saving grace of this show; it is not because the mother changed drastically, but because her changes were very small yet somehow highlighted her somewhat crazy yet caring way of thinking.

The micro management of the Mom about everything and to everyone is honestly grating. She’s honestly and without a doubt the true antagonist and protagonist of this show.

But, there is something gut wrenching about how that kind of suffocating love is also and is still love. Love that some people long for. Love that some people dream about. While it is too much, we can never discount that she love her kids and her family.

In essence, I think this show was able to capture the realness of love in the family. All families are not perfect. All families have feuds from within. But at the end of the day, when all is rooted in love, there is security and peace to be with the family.

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For family-drama (with a side of romance) lovers, YES.

I'm actually quite shocked at all the people who dislike this drama, I actually loved it a lot.

In the end, they teach us that, after all, your mom was also once a little girl with passions and dreams. In the end she gave up those dreams to love you and build a life for you. The scene in previous eps where the Mom came back to her old house and cried for her mother really touched me, in her vulnerable moments she cried for her mother who was no longer with her, and whose house she left at a young young age to go to an unfamiliar scary place like shanghai. I cried a lot during the opera stage, Huan was witnessing her mother relive her childhood and unfulfilled passions, which was so so heartbreaking, bittersweet, but extremely touching. As a mother-daughter story with a side of romance, I enjoyed this drama very much.

While the mother was annoying at times, and quite nosy in her childrens' lives, I think everyone had major character development. Their mother learned to live her own life in the end, and love her children from a distance. And her children in turn learned to love their mother even more, because in reality she sacrificed the most for them. Their mother came to the big city, abandoning her dreams, and her kids eventually grew up in an environment where they were able to pursue all their passions. I think they start to realize this by the end of the drama, as they are especially grateful to their mother.

I think through this drama, I have come to terms with my own family's issues. I think my understanding for my parents has grown, especially because I see some of the sacrifices made by the parents in this drama reflected into the one's my own parents have made. I hope I can one day help my mother and father pursue their unfulfilled passions just as Huan and Ming did.

The only storyline I hated was the Zhiming father coming back plot, it was wildly unnessecary, esp if they were just gonna kill him off in the end. But I guess his father's story was important because he served as a major player in getting that evil woman arrested.

While a little more romance may have been good, I was pretty satisfied with the amount they gave us, the haters to lovers development was perfect, and we got quite a big amount of their romance in the first half, which I loved. Big kudos to ZhiMing because the whole drama he had to deal with huan's family drama, which was a whole bunch. At least we know from that that he truly loves her, because tbh idk if I could put up with all of that LMAO.

This drama for me is comparable to the kdrama Live Your Own Life, but I enjoy this cdrama a lot more because they do the family bonding genre very well, and the drama in LYOL is just way too crazy, not to mention the mother in LYOL is way worse than the mother in this drama (LIKE WAYYY WORSE), which I think is another reason I was able to tolerate the mom here. Overall, I would really recommend this drama if you enjoy family-dramas and slice of life! For haters to lovers enjoyers this is also a great watch, just the romance becomes very minimal in the last 11 eps, and more focus is on the family.

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Crazy Stupid Mother ruins the watching experience

Typical Chinese drama with the toxic mother unfortunately. The ML and FL are great actors and portrayed the characters well and draw the audience into their inner struggles. The second couple, FL's brother & her BFF, also had a heart-wrenching storyline worth watching. The parental control culture are very real and well reflected in this drama - i.e. society/parents feel they have the right to control all the life choices of a woman, cultural discrimination against the older woman with younger man, annoying relatives who thinks they have a right to your money etc. The ML's personal growth, humanity and cool is so good to watch and XuKai is funny and perfect as usual.

What ruins the show is the FL's mother character - an explosive stupid idiot with a high pitch voice. it’s complete torture to watch. This character is an insult to women as mothers. The important parental character is the grandmother who is loving, strong and wise, the grandma we all wish we had. however the grandma is also flawed - not raising ML herself despite knowing his horrendous childhood, giving him to the FL’s family only works in her imagination. Grandma essentially gave the grandson ML nothing he wanted and needed when she passed away.

The first boyfriend is a weak pathological liar, rich but retarded. Recommend skipping some episodes to eliminate this useless character and the stupid mother's over-the-top screaming scenes. 1. Fast forward to ep 12 when FL is starting over as a single girl. 2. Fast forward ep 16 to avoid the big "engagement" scene where stupid mother went insane. It's worth waiting for the slow burn of the lead's love story. Ending is a little anti-climactic for the lead's love story although a happy one.

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Great story, but the toxic mom is over the top

Xu Kai is great, and the chemistry between him and Yang Zi is better than I expected. She is sometimes a little too bubbly and naive for me, but she does well here.
The story is pretty good, but they went overboard on some of the side characters. The dad is a miserable hen-pecked man who devotes everything to his family. Yet he’s constantly degraded as worthless and useless by the mom. And he just happily goes along with it all. The mom is absolutely horrible. She claims she’s doing things for the good of her daughter, but she’s cruel, manipulative, and will happily sell her daughter off for money. She is a terrible person and no one in the show seems willing to address it. When she’s finally called on some of her behavior, she plays the victim. It’s almost enough to turn the snow off. It’s just hard to watch when they make these characters so extreme.
The female best friend is awesome. She’s intelligent, witty and sweet. The male sidekick is super funny and entertaining.
The brother is sweet, dedicated and hard working. One thing that has disappointed me is that Gala Zhang’s character is very somber. He plays it well, don’t get me wrong. But I love the way he always laughs in Love Like White Jade- it’s absolutely infectious and keeps me smiling. I’ve been hoping to see/ hear that more, but the character isn’t there yet. Hopefully it will come later. (Not all of the episodes are out yet.)
The story itself is nothing new, but it’s an easy watch and moves at a decent pace. I do hope the mom develops as a person, but I don’t see a lot of hope for it. I’ll keep watching, as the main couple and side couple are just adorable.

Edit to add: I had to go ack and lower my rating. The mom does get a bit better for a while. She starts to understand others and makes an effort. But she’s still a raging psycho who sees herself as a martyr while creating huge amounts trouble for those around her. The last few episodes were about her and I was ready to turn it off. She’s run unchecked with a bad temper and a lack of thoughtfulness yet the family continues to tolerate this and treat her as if she’s a victim. A lot of problems could have been avoided if the husband had acted like a man at any point in their marriage and stood up to her. But no, they just all continue to tread on egg shells and try to appease her. The show would be much better without that extreme awfulness.

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very Asian family

When I read the first page of this drama review, mostly the comments are divided into 2. The one that feel the mom is so f*ck*ng annoying & the others that feel she brings life to the drama... Haha... But for me this drama really screams very Asian family drama... One dominant / over bearing mother and her filial piety child.

What I like:
+ The beautiful story about Asian's family. And in the end it become more beautiful...
+ How the relationship of Mai Cheng Huan (CH) & Yao Zhi Ming (ZM) shape. How they built each other trust & feeling.
+ CH is one strong woman. When she decided something, nothing can change it.
+ The funny & cute relationship of Mai Cheng Zao (ZZ) & Mao Yong Xin (MM).
+ The best grandma. She's one truthful woman, she honest with herself & have principle for herself, even from her youth.

What I don't like:
- At first, of course the over bearing mother. But I feel I can understand her feeling & put myself on her shoes. But that's doesn't mean I agree with every stupid decision she did, especially regarding CH & Xin Jia Liang (JL)'s relationship.
- The lousy JL. OMG... Several times I want to slap CH for choosing him as her man. Pity my Niu Jun Feng to get this role.
- The weak 'fear of wife' dad. Yes FL's dad almost have no voice in the family. But at the same time, this characteristics exactly what needed to balance her mother....

overall this drama is not about romance or workplace. It's more about family as a whole...

Below I'll write about the story, but that's also mean SPOILER ALERT!!! So read it at your own risk!!!












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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Story about Mai Cheng Huan (CH), a girl from an ordinary family, who is urged to be married by her mother. (Reason? Only 1, she's 29 years old... Haha...). Feeling the urge, CH finally talks to her boyfriend, Xin Jia Liang (JL) about her mother's 'demand'. One day, CH accidentally finds out that actually JL is not from an ordinary family, but JL actually is the 2nd generation of a rich family. That made CH angry & feel betrayed, cause JL hid the truth about his family from her for 3 years. From this point, their relationship turns to the dark corner.

CH's mother, when learning the truth about JL's family, turns 180°. At first, CH's mom thinks JL is a lousy man with no future, but as soon as she hears that JL is actually a 2nd generation rich man, she's so happy & tries everything to make CH & JL relationship successful. It's a typical Asian mother, who dreams of marrying a rich man but unsuccessful & eventually gonna force her daughter to fulfill her dream, cause they're always thinking :"it's what is best for their daughter."

JL squeezed between his feelings for CH & his family disapproval, cause CH is not from the rich family. And JL is one of the weak & lousy men, he never can take a firm stand on where he's standing between CH & his family. And still added to the fuel by JL's sister, who shows the most disapproval of their relationship. And it's all really crumbling down in ep 16, where CH's mom & JL's sister just do the most outrageous things & make JL & CH relationship finally completely over.

Feeling enough with her mother's pressure & intervention, CH finally decided to live outside of her family. And begin focusing on herself & her career.

Now, about CH & Yao Zhi Ming (ZM). CH & ZM know each other from the workplace. ZM is CH's boss & later we found out he's also his step cousin, CH's grandpa married ZM's grandma. And because of their grandma, ZM is getting to know CH. And because of CH, ZM realizes his shortcoming when it comes to the warmth of the family. Over time, ZM is getting closer to CH's family & feel welcome & the warmth of Mai's family. ZM's feeling toward CH is more and more special & CH also learn more & more about ZM & later they finally start their relationship.

On the other side of the coin, there's also a story about Mai Cheng Zao (ZZ) & Mao Yong Xin (MM). ZZ from baby raised by his mother's family at the village. That makes him sometimes feel detached & unwanted by his parents. That's brought up many issues regarding him, his mother & his mother's family. MM on the other hand is god daughter of Mai's family, she's also CH's best friend. ZZ longed to adore MM & had feelings for her. And later, MM also feels how good ZZ is to her & they become a couple.

When CH starts to focus on herself & her career, comes a sad news, her grandma died. But her grandma left CH inheritance of her hotel, for CH to manage. And with her warm hand, the dying hotel bloomed to glory....

Overtime CH & ZZ also repaired their relationship with their mother. They're starting to be better at communication, their mother wants to bow down & listen to her kid (CH &ZZ). And when everything looks wonderful, comes devastating news of their mother. Their mother get sick & she decided to go back to her hometown. And in this hometown, CH & ZZ find the amazing past about her mother's youth. About her abandoned dream, about her youth, about what she sacrificed for her family....

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Less than stellar follow through

Overall story is good, one could even argue than it is almost great in the beginning. But midway through the writing seems more and more.... lazy is the best word I could think of to describe it. In the beginning, every conflict and thought process of the characters are told in detail, and so is the climax building. But then all of sudden the scenes are just fillers then they just tell us the ending, not in a novel way, more like news reports way, just informing us what happened, then The End. Other that that I think this drama is pretty good, especially the acting and chemistry between the main characters and the family

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A expectativa da parceria de Xu Kai com Yang Zi foi bem maior do que o visto no drama. O roteiro não é o melhor, é focado mais nas complicadas relações familiares, os romances não contagiam e os personagens são comuns e sem nada de especial. A parte negocial é apenas preenchimento da trama. A verdadeira personagem protagonista desse drama é a mãe, pois tudo gira em torno dela que é uma personagem, até quase o final do drama, pouco gostável.
As atuações são boas, mais nada de extraordinário.
O tempo de tela desperdiçado com personagens insignificantes é imenso. A relação do casal protagonista está mais para amigos ou irmãos, pois não há emoção entre os atores que passe o sentimento de um romance. A finalização é insípida e faz jus ao drama.
Há algumas cenas cômicas bastante engraçadas e algumas poucas, emocionantes.
Yang Zi e Xu Kai são extremamente talentosos, mas o roteiro não colaborou para que eles brilhassem vestidos de seus personagens.

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If you like overbearing and annoying mother then you may like it. Acting was mediocre by everyone

Best Choice Ever is a Romantic Comedy about a 30-year-old unmarried girl who lives with her overbearing mother, who has done nothing but ruin and embarrass her, even slap her in front of everyone for what her mother called "I did it because I love you."

My Reviews:
1. The overbearing mother is so annoying. She is too much, and Yang Zi's (Mai Cheng Huan) character is too weak to stand up against her overbearing mom.
2. Xu Kai's acting ability is mediocre, but he is handsome and good to look at. I could only manage to finish his modern dramas, but I ended up dropping all of them for costume dramas because the acting was so bad.
3. There was a scene when he lost his dad to a car accident, and his character went through the grieving stage. Xu Kai did not show griefing emotion and barely shed tears for such a loss.
4. Yang Zi is a good actress, but she needs to branch out a bit because she plays a similar type of role, which doesn't stretch her acting ability. She always plays a bubbly girl, career-driven, timid, and filial daughter to an inferior mom.
5. It is watchable since there is nothing good or exceptional with the Cdrama in 2024 until the last four episodes when the mother was diagnosed with something that was not severe but went missing. This caused a frenzy, and everyone had to drop everything to look for her. The last four episodes were annoying and frustrating.
6. This drama focused more on the mother's character than Yang Zi's. I would give it a high rating until the last four episodes when the ending ruined everything because of the unnecessary plot about the mother missing.

Downgraded to 6.0 rating instead of 7.0 rating.

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