As much as the plot was cliché, there are some things we need to point out about this show.

A lot of people think the plot is pretty cliché.
Irrational, domineering boss ML and a starstruck ordinary girl FL. Contract Marriage. And Girl-Pretends-To-Be-A-Boy RP.

But I think some things need clarification.

1)The title is "Cute Programmer". I don't get why some people misunderstood the story to be about programming.
(=... =) when the title clearly hints that the story is about The Programmer. The CUTE PROGRAMMER, Lu Li, to be exact.

2)People called Luli, "the doormat FL". That's just so obvious that these viewers watched the show but never bothered to understand the plotline or the character settings.
This is a story about Luli who falls in love with a man. A man who lost his trust with anyone. A man who does not understand or refuse to understand social context more than he does 1s and 0s.
Imagine, if Lu Li could've just walked away when it was easier said and done. Then what about the years of affection she had cultivated for YiCheng? Was that a lie? A joke? A playtime series that took her entire youth?
Is it love if you could just walk away because everyone said you should?

3) Sure, Yi Cheng's character is annoying. And he treated Lu Li badly. But think about it.
His father never supported his dreams and his career. Constantly using his company and investment as a hostage and force YiCheng to what they want.
His first love and the only woman he allowed in his life,apart from codes, betrayed him, stole his work and sold it to the enemy.
It'll be weird if he didn't put up walls and kept angst at bay after all that, especially with his character setting.
But that wasn't the point, was it?
The point was how the "cute progammer" Lu Li's presence changed him and thawed the ice.

4) To be honest, this show is very lighthearted. Despite all the cliché drama obviously pitched into this show, it wasn't a heavy series to watch. They manage to pull your emotions up when it starts to get strained because of the main leads' conflicts.

5)The side couples are interesting and yet didn't hog the screen time meant for the main leads. But had enough exposure to cultivate their own romances.

6)I've seen a lot of Zhao Lin's other works. And honestly, this was not his first time playing the assholish, arrogant husband that only realized how he loved his martyr wife when she left him.
If you alao have, then you'd understand how good this was compared to his previous works. His previous works were dragging and prolonged the drama for aesthetics. And was truly stressing and emotionally draining. But "Cute Programmer", despite the drama, never dwelled in it. And character and plot development were pretty fast-paced but never rushed.

I gave the story a 9 because the story was really cute if not for the cliché parts.
The acting and actors are all chef's kisses. Especially because I'm a fan of Bambi and Zhao Lin's works.
Soundtrack wise, could've been better but definitely a 9.
Wouldn't say it's good enough to rewatch. But I think I can see myself rewatching one more time, but never more.
All in all this was a pretty good drama.

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Everyone and everything was just awkward..

Well it was light and fluffy. I'll give it that...
However, the main leads have this weird kind of tension... and a negative one... which is a def NO in BL couples.
Their skinship is very awkward, and weird.

And that girl jn the hetero cp... I find it weird that she felt sad in the last episode... Did she expect the guy to smile and keep talking to her after she deliberately poked at his wounds by mentioning the senior he used to like, and accusing him of only talking to her because they looked alike... whwn in fact she was the one who kept pestering him... Doesn't make sense to me...
If someone I've been slowly opening up to suddenly sl1s

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Okay I'll be honest. And list down the key points...

1)I love love loooove Fang Yilun with every fiber of my being that the entire time in this series I kept stressing to my mom how Alen looks gaunt and should be the one eating those steamed buns and in the buffet scene...
But of course that's just me being a willful Fang Yilun Fang
(and this is irrelevant to the series review, but I'm just saying... *shrugs*)

2) I like how this show subtly gave a statement that girls can be gluttons too and that's okay. That girls can be boyish or ravenous, crass and shameless... and they can still be a leading lady in their own love stories.
That the girls are not the "stereotype" leading ladies with barbie looks and stick figures, going on and on and on about dieting and losing wait because their imaginary reflections say they've gotten a few pounds in their skeletal figures...

3) I also liked how they emphasized on a lot of social problems that has become a social norm when it shouldn't be. Like the toxic fan culture, irresponsible gossip broadcasting etc., These are things that need to be represented, because it's real and it's a problem.

4) However, there are some part of the plot that will make you feel conflicted and bothered. Like the ending, for example. It's as if the ending was rushed. Yi Ran suddenly reveals what Liu Nian did in the past. Then Chumo drives out. To where? Then Liu Nian was shown to be going out as well with a plane ticket(so assuming he went to the airport to fly to the out the country... Presumably to where Chumo is)and that was it. As if it explains the ending.
But there was no character closure. Did he continue music? Or did he proceed in medicine? Was he in Mainland this whole time and never went back to America with his family?

There are a lot of sub plots and character plots that were left hanging. And yet, the last half of the series went out of their way and placed a lot of slow motions to emphasize both the romantic aesthetic and the dramatic scenes. (=... =) There was so much dead air and dull scenes that you'll find yourself fast forwarding and skipping a lot... It didn't feel progressive no matter how good the plot story was and the character roles was. (@@,)

As much as entertaining it was and how beautiful the music plot was, the production felt subparto the actor's actual abilities.

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I seriously love, love, loooovvvveee ADiamondLee even before this shortfilm. I've been a fan on their YT channel for the longest time and their vids were a bit comical mixed with handsome boys and more boys plus the BL/Bromance genre.
Sometimes it's sexual, sometimes just plain silly but it always ends with some kind of a comical relief sort of ending.

I never really got to see the acting potential of their actors until this shortfilm and I must say I didn't habe high expectations but I was overwhelmed by how good their acting was and how their eyes portrayed emotions

I fell in love all over again. ADiamondLee needs to do more projects like this. The acting was on par with highgpaid actors and I loved it shamelessly

Although I'm not much of a fan of stories that show alot of reality's niche topics(personally)... But I definitely appreciated this in all hoesty. Artistically, of course.
This reminded me of Night Flight, but with a very satisfactory ending.

I didn't really mind that it was short. It wouldn't have had that much impact if it was dragged on... And besides, even thpugh it was short it didn't feel rushed at all the necessary elements were there

It was beautiful. Dark... But also LIGHT-heartedly beautiful [pun intended (@_<) ]

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This isn't your average BL trope so do not expect romance.

Yes, this short film is under a niche genre that mainstream gay films rarely and almost never talk about. Likewise, fans don't necessarily like this type of trope.
The amount of realism is on point, then it tricks your head and confuses you with the weird actions of the characters.
The hint of immorality may seem off-putting for viewers. But I think that was the whole point. Interactions were meant to make you uncomfortable, but the point is you still enter the gates of hell despite knowing what lies ahead and what it offers.

L and Uncle act like a couple. But they aren't. L is in love with Uncle, and there was a hint Uncle was, too. But they both are too scared to admit. L, because he knows where he stands in reality. Uncle because he lives in reality with no option. Or so he thinks. Whether the separation Sun adviced him refers to L, or his wife, is unclear and open-ended.
Sun and Roger show two different types of detachment to relationships.
Sun, hoping to rekindle something he lost. Hoping to tug back the feeling he thinks has escaped him. He is there, but he isn't. He tries to be. But he feels empty, even after all that.
Roger is the main man who holds the orgies. He is there, he is part of the copulation and the pleasure, from start to finish. He recieves and gives and make sure everyone gets their cut of the warmth. But for some reason, he doesn't seem to be there. It's a different feeling of emptiness than Sun.
Sun's emptiness was brought about by a loss, he cannot accept. The lack of feeling resulting from not being able to have or keep something.
Roger, though, his emptiness comes because of his own fear of attachment. He is there. He feels everything and everyone, anyone but himself... He didn't lose anything or anyone important. He probably just wanted to feel alive.
Duke, who went there to experiment and experience, then realized that the lack of emotional attachment of orgies was not for him and so he went back to his regular life.

It's fun how the director used the ORGY to depict the various loneliness beneath the surface of the community. It's such a niche genre, I doubt a lot of people will like or understand. But personally, I love this.
The psychedelic effect of the lighting, the disorientation of clip sequencing, the lack of conclusion in each story that plays with your mind which adds more to the realism... The awkwardness, the confusion... it's all so unique and captivating.
You wanna pull away, but you can't because it gives you so much curiosity. Only to leave you hanging on a cliff because that was it. It ends when you start having questions, which are unlikely to be answered.
So you are left sitting there, staring at the screen pondering what you've just watched... refusing to believe that, that was it. It's done...

A fairy tale with no happy endings, just continuous existence... and reeks of poisonous gas instead of pixie dusts...

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Cute, Soft, Fluffy, No Toxic Family/Elders

TBH I had heard about this series a year ago (I think?) and I did wait for the series after loving the book, but I wasn't particularly that invested in this series as I was with the other series that were also released in this quarter.

But to be fair, once I got started, I felt like this was a breather after all the heavy drama that the recent Thai BL dramas that came out had us all grabbing for our undies for.
There was no toxic, homophobic parents.
There was no gender prejudiced public
There was no phenomenal, dramatic plot twists and mind-boggling climax... and yet the plot progression was still hooking the viewers in the most fluffy way possible, and by no means boring.
I also love the main lead's parental influences to be so open-minded and wise and still gave us the childish coupley character that you can't help but adore...
it was all fluffy and lemony and although not a perfect portrayal of reality, logic and common sense, it was a much needed breather from all those heavy BL tropes.

The acting was average. but appropriate enough for the type of energy the series was trying to go about... I just felt a little iffy about the acting of the one who played Por... he felt stiff with his character emotion-wise.

Fame can work on his crying expressions, since it felt forced at times... he did good, his sad scenes did make me cry but the wailing made it sound like he's pretending to cry (I mean, he is, since he's acting, but) I mean, it ruins the build up of emotion from an audience's stand point, so I think he can definitely work on it. But other than that Fame did a very good job! His acting was moving and relatable.

Fluke also did an exceptional job on acting, his eyes really draws you to the emotion that's being portrayed. And, good lord, his dimple smile is lethal. Not to mention his visuals, it just becomes a national crime when he smiles (p//v//q) staaahp... Of course, he wasn't just looks, his acting was just as good as his looks. No doubt.

Also it would've been nice if their kiss was a little deeper than just the touching of lips, but the intimacy was not diminished nevertheless... They probably wanted to stick on the kind of romanticism from the book, or are not comfortable enough to take it a step further, which I totally understand... It didn't make the scenes any less romantic anyway so it's forgivable, I guess ~

The sound engineering and OSTs also helped a lot in the entire series. It helped build up tension, emotion and even emphasis on scenes than neede to be emphasized. There was no dull, awkwards moment because the bgm and effects make up for it...

In conclusion, this was cliché but it was a very captivating

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It met expectations but for some reason, it gave me a small sense of dissatisfaction.

Def there's something here. I bet there will be those who will not agree, but I've been fascinated with this chronicles since the very first Lost Tomb season and Mystic Nine side series and side stories... Infact, my addiction comes from even before this was adapted to motion screen and was just a light novel (Graverobber's Chronicles) so I feel like this is a very objective commentary considering how unworldly attached I am to the entire story.

STORY
I feel a little unresolved. I loved how they tried to reconnect this storyline to the last 5 episode epilogue of the prequel, The Lost Tomb 2. They used a few clips that came from the prequel and refilmed the parts that had Neo Hu and pitched in Bai Shu. However, I feel a little unresolved with the changing of the story.
For example, the scene in the Changbai mountain. That part started when Wuxie(Neo Hu) found himself in Changbai mountain with no memory of what happened after they were almost buried by the rubble back in Lieutenant Zhang's tomb.
However in this sequel, although they finally explained what happened right after they were trapped under the rubble, they totally omitted the part were Wuxie woke up in the middle of Changbai mountain's "forbidden land" with no memory, and Fatty Wang purposely going to that village because "someone told me I'd find you here after you went missing from the hospital", that was in the prequel.

There was no resolution what was the serum they injected in xiao ge from the prequel and why he was losing control and temporarily lost his memories of WuXie. There was no resolution why WuXie lost his memories prior to Changbai mountain... Simply because they omitted the entire thing in the new sequel.

It was still as amazing adventure-wise as the prequels, aorat from the unresolved prologue that they changed up entirely. Props to the effort to connect the two series(since they're both part of the same arc albeit cut in two parts) considering the changes in main casting.

ACTING/CASTING
I tried hard not to be prejudiced with Bai Shu as last I seen him was when he played A Zhai in My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and his character setting was very mean and very much homophobic.
Contrary to how every actor who has ever played WuXie had impeccable chemistry to their xiao ge, Zhang Qiling, no matter which actor played him.

I was actually happy that Bai Shu did very well in playing WuXie and his unspoken bromance to both xiao ge and fatty Wang. However there were times he slightly emitted his inner A Zhai which I hated because even in the novel, no matter how naughty and sassy WuXie was, he never went over the line of being hurtful, no matter how unaffected fatty Wang was. (slight blame could be because of the scriptwriter I guess, but mostly because Bai Shu could've done a better execution of sounding like he was teasing than insulting). I didn't want to think that they only vasted Bai Shu because of his physical similarities to Neo Hu, but I felt how inferior he was to the previous casts for WuXie. But that's not entirely his fault, he could've done better in character representation had he had a better acting guide, like how he did in his newest 2021 Wuxia series, "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"

Also Zhang Qiling's actor made me feel like I'm seeing an entirely different character. I know Zhao Dong Ze has good acting skills, no doubt. But I feel like he isn't that immersed in xiao ge's role compared to his predecessors. The previous actors perfectly replicated xiao ge's allof, poker-face and how his slit like eyes seemed to say the words his lips didn't.
But Dong Ze has very round puppy eyes that I can't really associate him with Zhang Qiling. He had too much emotions in his face as opposed to the supposed poker-face. He just looked like a tandom person with a really bad mood. And xiao ge doesn't have brunette wavy hair. So I don't understand what prevented him from completely expressing xiao ge's iconic looks that his predecessors perfectly remade in every season.
He had too much facial expression when he was supposed to be playing the role of a very detached dead-panned persona.

THE SOUND PRODUCTION IS QUITE ACCEPTABLE IN COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS SEASONS. Although not that exceptional , it also wasn't below standards.

REWATCH VALUE: I'd watch it again... Story wise. Once or twice... I guess... But I feel like this sequel made me think for the first time, that it may be far better when I was reading it... Simply because the slight flaws gave me a sense of dysmorphia in the whole character presentation of the the main characters.

And that unresolved feeling really bothers me so...

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Okay.. So first of all... Mii Mii COUPLE!!! *shameless fujoshi screams*
Except they're technically supposed to be friends here ? and Jimmy's Korean is clumsily adorable, I wanna pet him and keep him in my pocket if he wasn't so tall. I mean I can pocket Tommy definitely, but I swear... As much as he's dashing in that slick back and thin-rimmed glasses, he looks really small in that suit (but still adorable in my hearteu~)

Second... Jaehyun's so adorable, I don't even mind him getting in between my miimii couple(Tommy-Jimmy) In fact, get me the papers and I'm adopting this adorable bean as my 57th korean son

Thirdly, (thirdly? Is that even a word? ?) *ssh! Focus!* when they said "first Thai-Korean BL collaboration" the fujoshis have waited aggressively for about two years ? and I must say they didn't disappoint.
Take Thai BL romance charms plus Korean filmography techniques
*slow clap* now THAT'S some quality Korean BL!

Fourth, it's amazing how this entire casting and the fact that characters go back and forth from Korean and Thai to cater to the actors/actresses' comfort in throwing lines, is surprisingly not awkward. Most of the times, language barrier makes it hard for actors to throw lines at each other with ease even though it's scripted.
It's a real challenge to summon emotions when you can't understand each other, so I am impressed how they made it seem so natural to be acting while speaking in entirely different languages and actually have an emotional connection.


(p.s. I made this review ages ago but accidentally saved it on the comments–I think I'm stupid–so this review probably isn't so helpful anymore 😅

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A good, beautiful story with a bad script and neglected development

Let tick the boxes for pros first before I talk about the cons.

~First, ChapGreen for main leads? Hell yes! <3
~The OSTs are just beautiful... <3
~The filming aesthetic is so pleasing to the eye. It's so clean that it matches the posh aesthetic they got going on the series
~It was a breath of fresh air that they didn't portray the girl as tge stereotype, "offended girl who becomes angry for getting rejected because main lead is gay and decides to take revenge and make their lives difficult" that almost all BL series have. I'm so tired having this type of characters represented by a woman and how they use it as a cause of climactic conflict. It was nice to see the girl being a mature woman who can take rejection like how adults should.
~Khun Nawee had a beautiful character design, he was created with all the characteristics of a top/seme but had all the vulnerabilities of a bottom/uke. This way, the trope of top-bottom between the main leads is not highlighted and the BL stereotype of roles between gay couples is broken.

Sadly, the cons ruined it for this show :(

~ I love how they gave the main leads complex emotions and clear character story, BUT seriously though, the supporting characters have almost nothing going on for them. They looked like decor to emphasize the stage for the main leads.
~And speaking of character development, Ai'Oun started off introduced as a character of intention. He had a specific introduction from the first episode, be so successful and avenge the death of his father, but that never had any progress... not even a proper closure, other than he suddenly wanted to migrate to England because he fell in love with Nawee!
~Although Nawee's character design had interesting depth, the fact that the series ended with no resolution between his relationship with his family (apart from claiming his father is dead to him) there was no clear closure or direction.
It felt like he was a BL Cinderella, who fell in love with his fairy godmother (Oun) and all of a sudden his story ends right after the ball (his birthday) He was shunned by his father for no valid reason, got everthing taken away from him, but he was busy with his romantic development with Ai'Oun that he forgot to fight back and get back what should've ben his. And then the series just ended like that. All of a sudden he became an empty character.
~The entire series felt so rushed.
The storyline was doing great in the first 5 episodes (I meant the phasing of the story) then all of a sudden it went on a speed ride and rushed to end the series. I can guess it might be because of the budget for production. I felt cheated because I had high expectations for this series and waited for it... only to get a crappy screenplay and a rushed ending.
~Why bother with the sub-plots when in the end, they will be ignored anyway? They focused too much in the last plot and forgot everyone else.

It was disappointing, :'(

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A good watch, until the mystery was revealed...

First of all, it was a good series. Filmography was also a pass, albeit not enough to be commendable as a film major...

STORY
The story was great until the Te-Te guy (as Akk so randomly calls it) was revealed.
After the revelation of the mystery, it's as if the character development for both the main leads and supporting actors just stopped. And were awefully rushed and crammed to fit the final episode.
It's like they rushed to find a reason to get one of the main leads back to France, so the show can forcibly justify the "French trope" of the theme...

It was all good, until the continuity went in shambles.
It's like a professional writer was working on the ending then suddenly had diarrhea so he let his amateur assitant finish the ending

ACTING/ACTORS
The actors had great chemistry and they could've done better I'm sure... Their eyes alone did the acting... They did a great job

MUSIC
I always believed that a good soundtrack helps boost a series' popularity and value...

REWATCH VALUE
Well... I wouldn't watch it a third time

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For a Chinese production, I'm happy enough it wasn't downplayed as bromance

I think it's the first time in a long time that we get an actual BL genre series from the mainland. And there are some interesting plots and... slightly disappointing adjustments, to accomodate China's media censorship.

Parts where the main leads hug in bed, or kiss would be cut off and skipped, and not too subtly either. The frame would just randomly cut, no tranaition whatsoever, as if the director wanted to purposefully tell the viewers "we filmed it, they acted it, but the censorship took out the fun parts"

STORY = 7.5
Only because it felt like a rip off concept to Color Rush Season 1 that was produced a year before this. But in this series' defense, they created more interesting characters for the mono and chrome roles. Although, I think they made the characters of monos and chromes as superficial and a "beneficial" relationship rather than romantic and it felt confusing and probably not as relatable for the viewers. And it was too short and there was not enough time for character build up and progress. It felt rushed and didn't get to highlight the actor's ability to immerse in their roles

ACTING/CAST = 7
Zhou Jun Yu who plays Jiang Yifeng, and his partner who plays Lu Lin (who for some reason I can't find information on) had a cute chemistry. They would've trended had they been allowed with a lot of skinship and intimate scenes.
They were quite good for rookie actors. Especially the one who played Lu Lin. He had so much confidence touching Jun Yu and staring at him with adoring eyes, his sad eyes will pull on your heartstring like puppy eyes... he makes you want to pet him, hug him and take him home, protect him him from the baddies.
Also how can a man be manly handsome and prettier than a girl both at the same time? Isn't that cheating? Must be those pretty eyes hehe...

MUSIC = 7.5
The soundtrack, it wasn't phenomenal, but it was easy to listen on... The sound engineering though felt ancient... some sound effects felt misplaced and unnatural and the voice over dubbing felt dull and probably muted a lot of the original emotion in the actor's actual voices.

REWATCH VALUE = 6
It's an adorable series, but I probably would not rewatch it again...


Apart from the short duration per clip and those randomly cut romantic scenes (supposedly) it wasn't a very frustrating series, just a tad bit disappointing... but considering thus is a mainland China production, I'm not the least bit surprised.

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To say that this sequel disappointed me is an understatement...

Honestly, I expected this to atleast be at the level of the first sequel if not more...
For some reason, the genre had a total shift from somber romantic drama to comedy action...
The lack of appropriate sound effects and sound engineering was taxing... even if it was in the POV of our mono main lead... (=~=) I mean, they are color blind, not deaf... (¬_¬")

STORY 7.5
I appreciate the fact that they "tried" to continue the story without Yoo Han. But I didn't like how it strayed away from the original plot and genre. This feels more like a filler or OVA, not an actual season sequel.

ACTING/CAST 9.0
Ngl, I love how Yeon Woo just be collecting idols here and there... having Vixx's Hyuk playing a BL role and actually making the kiss (which I felt disappointed at first, because I thought they were only going to kiss a la camera trick, until Hyuk leaned it for the second kiss that was finally caught by the camera, god! this sequel had an aweful camera work!)
But I hate how some supporting actor/actresses didn't get proper exposure... even though their characters shoupd have had pivotal scenes, there was no focus on them nor proper representation on-screen (i. e. Yeonwoo's friends and the mono little sister)

MUSIC 8.0
I love the ost... but good lord! did the production team not have a sound engineer during editing? The entire thing felt so amateur because there was no BGM nor SFX to support the progression of the scenes and the emotional mood of the characters...

REWATCH VALUE 6.0
Probably not gonna rewatch, definitely not...
The production was amatuer... and those god-aweful camera work. I feel like the production team didn't invest enough for the show...

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