I decided to watch this because I liked Lei Jiayin and needed some background noise while I worked (I figured this wasn’t a drama that required my undivided attention… I was wrong). I usually stay away from modern cdramas as I find them a little too draggy. But, this one turned out way better than I expected and definitely had my full attention. I managed to finish all 38 episodes without fast forwarding, which is very impressive for someone as impatient as me. The love story, family conflict, and revenge plot actually reminded me of classic Hong Kong TVB dramas from the 80’s, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Jian Hongcheng and Ning You were two incredibly good people who suffered and sacrificed everything for their families. My heart ached for them and there were countless times where I wanted to shake some sense into them and tell them to live for themselves for once. But, they wouldn’t be the characters that I admired if they didn’t do the things they did. Lei Jiayin and Yuan Quan were very natural and believable in their roles. It was an A+ performance from the both of them.

But, Ning Shu ended up being the character that I rooted for and cared about the most. However, I must mention that I never liked Zhang Yixing or any of the characters he portrayed in the past. So, when I first went into this drama, I expected to dislike Ning Shu and be indifferent to his ultimate downfall. But, a few episodes in was all it took for me to become invested in his storyline and desperately wished he would get his revenge, despite knowing that it would never happen. Zhang Yixing really brought the character to life. His acting has improved tremendously and I am definitely looking forward to his future works now. He made me sympathize dearly with Ning Shu and I had really hoped that he would get a somewhat happy ending. I’m so sad the drama didn’t end on episode 33. He deserved that chance to start anew.

Aside from Jian Hongcheng, Ning You, and Ning Shu, I honestly didn’t care for any of the other characters, many of them I despised. But, unfortunately they ended up being the three people who suffered the most. And yet I am still inclined to rate this drama a 9 because the story is very well written and fast paced with fleshed out characters that make you see from multiple perspectives. I highly recommend this show for those looking for something a little more slice-of-life than idol dramas or if you’re a fan of older TVB dramas, you might want to check this out ;)