“I am not perfect. I have never thought of making my girlfriend perfect. I only hope she is happy. In fact, she doesn't need to be under so much pressure. She can rely wholly on me.” ~ Feng Teng I was not expecting to love this drama so much. This is my first Chinese drama. I usually watch Korean dramas. Initially, I had many complaints. But now writing this review, those issues seem unimportant. MDL friends tell me that you can't compare Korean dramas to Chinese dramas and at first I couldn't understand that at all. But now I do. They are different. And you just have to appreciate them for their differences. That said, I still included a list of comparisons at the end of this review. =) This is also my longest drama to date. It was a good introduction to the idea of dramas longer than 16-18 episodes. I found I could watch it easily and didn't get tired and the story continued to carry. I now feel more confident with trying out more lengthy dramas. REVIEW My main problem with this drama was that the important scenes left me disappointed that I wasn't captivated by the emotion and the intensity that was obviously trying to be conveyed. I couldn't connect. The second half of this drama is fun. Feng Teng and Shan Shan are adorable and we get to see the ups and downs of an uneven relationship. I liked seeing how they navigated it. Feng Teng clearly adores Shan Shan so you can forgive the drama for a lot of things. It gets fun to see what new obstacle will arise so the pair can be all cute and cuddly and demonstrate how much they care for each other. Of course they also explore the difficulties of professionalism and workplace issues in their romance. As the drama goes on, Feng Teng gets kinder and more possessive. Shan Shan gets more and more independent. YESSS! I love that she stops trying to please him so much and starts working on her own goals. My favourite part was when she said, “Do it yourself.” Hahaahahah. And the look of shock on his face was priceless. Feng Teng Feng Teng, throughout the drama, consistently bored and annoyed me with his inaction. There's not enough explanation to his cold facade. The way he just stares for ages is discomforting. Feng Teng presents his conceit in a straight manner. There's no joking about it which makes it bearable in Kdramas. Feng is pretty stolid and robotic. The first time he comes to life is when his sister's best friend returns to Shanghai and he actually smiles in conversations and jokes. It was hard to connect and empathise with him because you never know what he's thinking. His face is stone. He honestly is his most animated self with his sister's best friend. I was also offended that he'd joke about threatening Shan Shan's when he knew she was taking him seriously. Shan Shan I really like how the drama develops Shan Shan. By the end of the drama she is dumbfoundingly mature. I was seriously impressed. Shan Shan starts as the doe-eyed, altruistic Cinderella. She does have some sarcasm and she's not terribly clueless and I liked that she is quick to catch on to social issues even if it's a bit too late. She is most sassy in her mind. Sometimes it feels a bit suffocating with the constant voiceovers. I also like that she takes some lengths to avoid Feng Teng's highhandedness. But she's only indirectly defiant until later on in the drama. I think she's an interesting person but it takes a while to see it. Friends “This prince who is used to eating without worry must want to try out a plain dish like you.” ~ Shuang Yi Shan Shan's best friend scenes never really won me over till about Episode 13. They are full of “advice”. Also, what happened to Shuang Yi? She just disappeared? Sister – Feng Yue Feng Yue is cheeky and very pretty. She and her husband are an adorable couple and kind of stole the prize for most heart-winning romance. Romance Feng Teng and Shan Shan's romance develops over a lunchbox. Sometimes this is cheesy and stalkerish and other times it is quite cute to see how invested this “big boss” is over lunch. I was really curious to see how Feng Teng and Shan Shan would get together and what they'd be like together. I couldn't understand why Feng Teng liked Shan Shan at first. I could imagine him falling in love with her personality if she ever actually opened her mouth to have a conversation but it's just those big eyes and stuttering sentences. I think if you can make it to Episode 12 then you're sorted. Episode 12 is THE episode. All the happiness, everything comes together, it all makes sense. More importantly, Feng Teng and Shan Shan make sense. It's all wonderful sunshine and roses and I could finally root for them. I do get a bit worried when a heroine is worried about angering her boyfriend. There are definitely moments when I was concerned about the powerplay of the relationship. The way Shan Shan would search for an answer to please him and he would just remain stolidly blank until she gave in to what he wanted. I didn't like seeing Shan Shan bow to this kind of manipulation. And just because the heart is good, doesn't mean you can snatch someone's phone out of their hand while they're looking at it. Chinese Dramas vs. Korean Dramas I feel that the below points are a bit harsh now. But I must admit that watching this drama has made me appreciate Kdramas a whole lot more. Compared with Kdramas, this drama looks very amateur. I can see what people mean by the lower quality of acting, delivery, and filming. As a result, it's easy to skip over and miss things just to get the general feel of the story because each second that passes by is not so important or well-thought out. First thing I noticed, was that the men stand very close to the female when talking instead of the polite distance that you would expect from not only Korean culture but general Western personal space etiquette. Another thing is that voiceover that indicates what the character's are thinking. This results in a blank facial expression with an intangible voice speaking over top which really is sort of distracting and takes you out of the moment of the drama. In Korean dramas, characters tend to “think out loud” and them actually having to voice their thoughts makes the feeling more expressing and brings me into the moment with them. On the topic of facial expressions...these Chinese actors seem to be a blank wall compared with Korean actors who are so animated and expressive. Their favourite look is the “huh?” face. The story telling is disjointed. I was relieved to see some themes emerge. Actually, I'm surprised at how I've come to rely on themes to make me think and invest myself in the plot.